Role of the radiologist in cardiac diagnostic imaging

Automated detection of healthy and diseased aortae from images obtained by contrast-enhanced CT scan

PURPOSE

We developed the next stage of our computer assisted diagnosis (CAD) system to aid radiologists in evaluating CT images for aortic disease by removing innocuous images and highlighting signs of aortic disease.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Segmented data of patient's contrast-enhanced CT scan was analyzed for aortic dissection and penetrating aortic ulcer (PAU). Aortic dissection was detected by checking for an abnormal shape of the aorta using edge oriented methods. PAU was recognized through abnormally high intensities with interest point operators.

RESULTS

The aortic dissection detection process had a sensitivity of 0.8218 and a specificity of 0.9907. The PAU detection process scored a sensitivity of 0.7587 and a specificity of 0.9700.

CONCLUSION

The aortic dissection detection process and the PAU detection process were successful in removing innocuous images, but additional methods are necessary for improving recognition of images with aortic disease.

[Imaging of the coronary arteries with multi-channel CT: a pictorial assay]

Advances in cardiac imaging with multidetector row CT allow new applications in the diagnosis of cardiac pathology. The purpose of this article is to illustrate the normal anatomy and main anatomical variants of the coronary arteries that can be detected with multi-channel CT. The images presented here were obtained using 4-channel and 16-channel multi-detector row CT units. Post-processing of CT imaging data was performed using: VRT, MPVR, and 2D curved MPR. Because of continuing technical advances, the use of CT imaging in the evaluation of cardiac disorders is likely to increase.