Cardiac CT: Technical considerations

The possibility to perform cardiac and coronary imaging was a major driving force behind an ongoing, rapid evolution of scanner technology, accompanied by improvements of software and post-processing tools. The most recent generations of MDCT with the ability to acquire at least 64 slices simultaneously allow relatively robust morphological and functional imaging of the heart. By nature of its target, the continuously moving heart, cardiac CT is technically more challenging than other CT applications. Also, rapid technical development requires constant adaptation of acquisition protocols. The present manuscript summarizes the current state of technology of cardiac CT. Included are considerations regarding appropriate patient selection, patient medication, contrast enhancement, acquisition and reconstruction parameters, image display and analysis techniques with a special emphasis on radiation dose and all possible measures to keep the dose. It does not constitute a meta-analysis of published literature, but merely reflects an expert consensus on the current technical aspects of cardiac CT imaging.