David A. Dowe, MD

Coronary CT angiography came of age in the last decade. This occurred because CT technology moved into the 16- and 64- detector era.

In the October 2006 issue of Diagnostic Imaging, I wrote a brief article describing the benefits of using prospective gating when performing coronary CT angiography.

By reducing radiation exposure while maintaining image quality, technique could make coronary CTA viable as screening tool

Coronary CT angiography (CCTA) was initially performed on four-slice multidetector CT scanners. These examinations were confined to evaluation of the proximal coronary arteries because the studies were limited in spatial and temporal resolution and were plagued by long acquisition times that required intolerably long breath-holds. Sixteen-slice scanners produced revolutionary improvements in CCTA technique: For the first time, complete coronary circulation exams with breath-holds in the 15 to 20-second range could be routinely obtained.