Evaluation of Subsecond Gated Helical CT for Quantification of Coronary Artery Calcium and Comparison with Electron Beam CT

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Abstract
OBJECTIVE. Since its introduction early in the 1990s, helical CT has become the predominant technology for obtaining CT images for medical applications. Recent improvements in the temporal resolution of helical CT (subsecond) and the addition of retrospective cardiac gating are combined in this report evaluating cardiac-gated helical CT for quantifying coronary artery calcium. We compare total calcium scores determined on subsecond gated helical CT with the current reference for coronary calcium evaluation, electron beam CT.MATERIALS AND METHODS. We compared total calcium scores obtained using a general purpose, unmodified helical CT scanner with scores obtained using electron beam CT in 36 individuals who were 68 ± 11 years old (age range, 41-85 years).RESULTS. Correlation coefficients ranged from 0.97 to 0.98 (Pearson's product moment) and from 0.95 to 0.96 (Spearman's rank order), depending on the coronary calcium scoring method used. Agreement in the classification of participants as “healthy” or “dis...