Potential dose reduction of optimal ECG-controlled tube current modulation for 256-slice CT coronary angiography.

Rationale And Objectives: The purpose of this study was to design an optimized heart rate (HR)-dependent electrocardiogram (ECG) pulsing protocol for computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) on a 256-slice CT scanner and to assess its potential dose reduction retrospectively, based on the retrospective ECG gating data without dose modulation.

Materials And Methods: A total of 137 patients were enrolled to perform CTCA with a 256-slice scanner. Two independent radiologists graded image quality of coronary artery segments (1 = excellent, no motion artifacts; 4 = poor, severe motion artifacts) to define optimal reconstruction window in end-systolic phase, mid-diastolic phase, and the combination of both cardiac phases. According to statistical analysis for HR against image quality, four HR-depended ECG-pulsing protocols were proposed. We also demonstrated the potential dose reduction of the proposed technique.

Results: For patients with HR <59 beats/min (group 1), 60-72 beats/min (group 2), 73-84 beats/min (group 3), and >85 beats/min (group 4), the optimal reconstruction windows were at 74.1-81.3%, 73.4-82.2%, 38.3-82.3%, and 37.2-61.6% of R-R interval, respectively. The ECG-pulsing protocols with minimal radiation dose (ie, no tube current outside the pulsing window) can reduce the effective dose of CTCA by 79.5%, 75.7%, 38.3%, and 57.4% for HR groups 1 to 4, respectively. The corresponding results for reducing tube current by 80% outside the pulsing window were 63.7%, 56.6%, 32.0%, and 46.0%.

Conclusion: Through the optimization of ECG-pulsed tube-current modulation, radiation exposure can be greatly reduced, especially in patients with HR <72 beats/min or >85 beats/min.