Dear AuntMinnie Member,
Prospective electrocardiogram (ECG) gating is an exciting new technology for reducing radiation dose in coronary CT angiography scans. The technique has been honed on 64-slice scanners, but how well does it work with the new 320-detector-row machines?
Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston examined the issue in an article by staff writer Eric Barnes that we're featuring in our CT Digital Community. The research team's goal was to find the optimum scan parameters for 320-slice prospective gating, focusing on the phase window width -- the phase of the heartbeat during which images are acquired.
Get more details by clicking here, or visit the community at ct.auntminnie.com.
CR retake rates
In other news, in our Digital X-Ray Community we report on the findings of a group of Spanish researchers who developed a software application to analyze retake rates in computed radiography (CR) studies.
The quality control tool analyzed information in the DICOM header of CR images stored in their hospital's PACS archive. The software enabled the researchers to determine that certain types of exams were prone to higher retake rates -- and to take corrective action to reduce repeat studies.
Learn more by clicking here, or visit the Digital X-Ray Community at xray.auntminnie.com.
