Cinematic versus volume rendered imaging for the depiction of complex congenital heart disease

The role of 3D cinematic rendering in the evaluation of upper extremity trauma

Traumatic upper extremity injuries are a common cause of emergency department visits, comprising between 10-30% of traumatic injury visits. Timely and accurate evaluation is important to prevent severe complications such as permanent deformities, ischemia, or even death. Computed tomography (CT) and CT angiography (CTA) are the favored non-invasive imaging techniques for assessing upper extremity trauma, playing a crucial role in both the treatment planning and decision-making processes for such injuries. In CT postprocessing, a novel 3D rendering method, cinematic rendering (CR), employs sophisticated lighting models that simulate the interaction of multiple photons with the volumetric dataset. This technique produces images with realistic shadows and improved surface detail, surpassing the capabilities of volume rendering (VR) or maximal intensity projection (MIP). Considering the benefits of CR, we demonstrate its use and ability to achieve photorealistic anatomic visualization in a series of 11 cases where patients presented with traumatic upper extremity injuries, including bone, vascular, and skin/soft tissue injuries, adding to diagnostic confidence and intervention planning.

3D Cinematic rendering for evaluating femoral pseudoaneurysms in injection drug users

The inguinal region, specifically the femoral vasculature, is a commonly used site of injection for intravenous drug users (IVDU). Repeated puncture of the vessel wall results in breakdown and subsequent arterial pseudoaneurysm- dilatations or outpouching of blood vessels, which, if left untreated, can result in fatal complications such as rupture with hemorrhage, sepsis, or even limb loss. The current modalities for arterial pseudoaneurysms include Doppler ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) angiography, both of which play important roles in management and surgical planning. However, 3D cinematic rendering (CR), a novel CT post-processing technique, offers timely, highly detailed photorealistic images that more clearly display the relation of anatomical structures, allowing for greater diagnostic confidence and precise surgical planning, particularly useful in the emergency setting. In this pictorial review, we demonstrate role of 3D CR in diagnosis and management of femoral pseudoaneurysms in IVDU through 9 illustrative cases.

Cardiac Computed Tomography in Congenital Heart Disease

Computed tomography (CT) has emerged as a leading imaging modality in the evaluation of congenital heart disease (CHD). With ever-faster acquisition speed, decreasing radiation exposure, impeccable anatomic detail, optional functional data, and numerous post-processing tools, CT offers broad utility in CHD diagnosis, preoperative planning, and postoperative assessment. In this article, the far-reaching role of CT in CHD is reviewed, focusing on technical imaging considerations and key clinical applications.

Expanded experience with cardiovascular black blood cinematic rendering

Black blood cinematic rendering (BBCR) is a newly described preset for cinematic rendering, which creates photorealistic displays from volumetric data sets with the contrast-enhanced blood pool displayed as dark and transparent. That set of features potentially provides for enhanced visualization of endomyocardial and intraluminal pathology, as well as cardiac devices. The similarity of the images to black-blood magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may allow for expansion of the evaluation of certain types of pathology into patient populations unable to undergo MRI. In the emergency setting, the rapid acquisition time and reasonable post-processing time make this technique clinically feasible. In this expanded experience, we demonstrate an expanded clinical experience with the BBCR technique, highlighting the applications for intraluminal cardiovascular evaluation, especially focused on current and potential emergency radiology applications.