MDCT technology

MDCT technology continues to evolve rapidly. At the current stage of development, improvements concentrate on gantry rotational speed (up to 270 ms for a... 

As MDCT scanner technology advances, both acquisition speed and extent of z-direction coverage continue to improve. These advances should make possible the use of lower total contrast volumes and more rapid scanning, without loss of image quality or significantly increased radiation dose. Indeed, with the introduction of 320-row MDCT scanners, which feature a detector width of 16 cm, time-resolved CTA and whole-brain CTP are on the horizon [105-107]. 

Coverage volume will continue to increase with enlarging detector arrays and improved technology. Cutting edge scanners with 320 detector rows offer the possibility of 16-cm coverage without the decreased temporal resolution required with shuttle-mode technique. However, some early clinical reports noted inferior image quality with 320-slice MDCT compared to 64-slice MDCT [83, 84]. 

Computed tomography (CT) has developed dramatically with the introduction of multi-row detector technology. Especially the abdomen, where motion artifacts due to respiratory motion and bowel peristalsis are disturbing, benefits greatly from this technique. While scanners with 64 or more detector rows are still most common in large community or university hospitals, scanners with between 2 and 16 slices are widely available even in private practice or in small hospitals. With the introduction of multi-detector CT (MDCT) bi- or even tri-phasic examinations of the liver can be combined into a thoraco-abdominal CT examination without compromise with regard to spatial or temporal resolution. The acquisition of the liver with a 64-slice scanner, for example, only requires a few seconds... 

In summary, modern MDCT equipment allows for a robust and straight-forward diagnostic work-up for acute chest pain in the emergency situation. The latest scanner technology guarantees a diagnostic examination quality without pre-medication even in acutely fll... 

Substantial technological advances in data acquisition and data processing leading to an improved spatial and temporal resolution have established a central role for multi-detector-row computed tomography (MDCT) in the evaluation of the operative cardiac patient. 

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