An assessment of the role of scan speed in perceived image quality of body computed tomography.

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Chest (43) (noncardiac) and 75 abdominal computed tomograhic (CT) examinations were studied by obtaining 4 sections of a pertinent area using 2.25, 4.5, 9 and 18 s scan speeds. Chest scans obtained with the 3 faster speeds were perceived to be qualitatively similar to one another but were rated better than the 18 s sections. While these qualitative differences were statistically significant, most were relatively unimportant clinically. Analysis of the abdominal sections showed significant qualitative improvement with each successively faster scan speed. The only sections rated unreadable and/or showing large numbers of motion artifacts were abdominal studies, primarily 18 s studies. A statistically significant loss of diagnostic information was noted with 18 s scans, especially in the upper abdomen.