Dear AuntMinnie Member,
Japanese researchers are continuing to get good results in coronary artery imaging with a work-in-progress 256-slice CT scanner.
In an article we're featuring this week in our CT Digital Community, a group from Ehime University in Matsuyama expanded on previous work that examined the scanner's ability to visualize various segments of the coronary arteries, traditionally the toughest nut to crack in heart imaging due their small size.
Although the team's patient population is small, they build on previous work by including patients with additional symptoms of cardiac disease. Among the scanner's advantages is its ability to cover the entire heart in a single 0.5-second gantry rotation.
The researchers found that the system turned in good accuracy numbers in detecting stenoses of more than 70%, although conditions like calcifications and coronary stents are still confounding factors. Learn more about their research by clicking here.
Another story we're featuring explores CT's role as one of the modalities used in detecting vulnerable plaque -- the plaque most likely to rupture and cause a cardiac event. The president of the Washington, DC-based American College of Cardiology serves up a whole new perspective on the subject here.
In a third article, researchers from the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio used cardiac CT angiography (CCTA) to get a closer look at coronary anatomy, with the goal of improving treatment for mitral regurgitation. Find out what CCTA told them by clicking here.
Finally, U.S. researchers are offering up new guidelines this week on when CT should be used in patients with suspected pulmonary embolism. Get more information by clicking here.
For the rest of the news on CT, visit our CT Digital Community at ct.auntminnie.com.
