Improved Detection of Small and Low-Density Plaques in Virtual Noncontrast Imaging–based Calcium Scoring at Photon-Counting Detector CT
Nicola Fink, Tilman Emrich, U. Joseph Schoepf, Emese Zsarnóczay, Jim O’Doherty, Moritz C. Halfmann, Joseph P. Griffith, Daniel Pinos, Pál Surányi, Dhiraj Baruah, Ismail Kabakus, Jens Ricke, Ákos Varga‐Szemes
Abstract
To investigate the impact of plaque size and density on virtual noncontrast (VNC)–based coronary artery calcium scoring (CACS) using photon-counting detector CT and to provide safety net reconstructions for improved detection of subtle plaques in patients whose VNC-based CACS would otherwise be erroneously zero when compared with true noncontrast (TNC)–based CACS.
Topics & Concepts
DetectorPhoton countingNuclear medicineOpticsMedicineRadiologyMaterials scienceBiomedical engineeringPhysicsAdvanced X-ray and CT ImagingMedical Imaging Techniques and ApplicationsCardiac Imaging and Diagnostics