Impact of dual energy cardiac CT for metal artefact reduction post aortic valve replacement

Advances in metal artifact reduction in CT images: A review of traditional and novel metal artifact reduction techniques

Metal artifacts degrade CT image quality, hampering clinical assessment. Numerous metal artifact reduction methods are available to improve the image quality of CT images with metal implants. In this review, an overview of traditional methods is provided including the modification of acquisition and reconstruction parameters, projection-based metal artifact reduction techniques (MAR), dual energy CT (DECT) and the combination of these techniques. Furthermore, the additional value and challenges of novel metal artifact reduction techniques that have been introduced over the past years are discussed such as photon counting CT (PCCT) and deep learning based metal artifact reduction techniques.

Best Practices for Imaging Cardiac Device-Related Infections and Endocarditis: A JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging Expert Panel Statement

The diagnosis of cardiac device infection and, more importantly, accurate localization of the infection site, such as defibrillator pocket, pacemaker lead, along the peripheral driveline or central portion of the left ventricular assist device, prosthetic valve ring abscesses, and perivalvular extensions, remain clinically challenging. Although transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography are the first-line imaging tests in suspected endocarditis and for assessing hemodynamic complications, recent studies suggest that cardiac computed tomography (CT) or CT angiography and functional imaging with ¹⁸F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) with CT (FDG PET/CT) may have an incremental role in technically limited or inconclusive cases on echocardiography. One of the key benefits of FDG PET/CT is in its detection of inflammatory cells early in the infection process, before morphological damages ensue. However, there are many unanswered questions in the literature. In this document, we provide consensus on best practices among the various imaging studies, which includes the detection of cardiac device infection, differentiation of infection from inflammation, image-guided patient management, and detailed recommendations on patient preparation, image acquisition, processing, interpretation, and standardized reporting.

Dual-Energy Heart CT: Beyond Better Angiography-Review

Heart CT has undergone substantial development from the use of calcium scores performed on electron beam CT to modern 256+-row CT scanners. The latest big step in its evolution was the invention of dual-energy scanners with much greater capabilities than just performing better ECG-gated angio-CT. In this review, we present the unique features of dual-energy CT in heart diagnostics.