WEDNESDAY, Dec. 23 (HealthDay News) -- The 64-MDCT scanner technology can accurately identify coronary artery stenoses in many (but not all) patients, according to a study in the January issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.
Marc Dewey, M.D., of Humboldt-Universität und Freie Univartment ersität zu Berlin, and colleagues analyzed 214 men and 77 women (mean age, 59.3 years), using multiple logistic regression to study the effects of coronary artery calcification, obesity, heart rate, and heart rate variability on image quality and accuracy.
The researchers found that significant factors associated with poorer image quality included increasing body mass index, increasing heart rate, and the presence of breathing artifact (odds ratios, 0.89. 0.90, and 4.97, respectively), but not sex and coronary artery calcification score. They also found that coronary artery calcification score and age were associated with reduced diagnostic accuracy at a vessel level.
"The 64-MDCT scanners have a faster gantry rotation time and faster volume coverage compared with previous-generation scanners, thus enabling a more robust examination of the coronary arteries that is less susceptible to respiratory artifact and patient movement," the authors write.
Several authors reported financial relationships with medical device manufacturers.
Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
