Cardiac perfusion is along with imaging of coronary artery stenosis an important tool in assessing the degree of coronary artery disease (CAD) and decision-making regarding further treatment. SPECT, lately PET, echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging are clinically established techniques to evaluate myocardial perfusion and viability with a high diagnostic accuracy and relatively few unwanted sideeffects. However, none of these modalities can simultaneously and reliably assess the extent and morphology of CAD, features which also have implications for patient management. In contrast, cardiac CT has emerged over the last years as a reliable tool to visualize coronary atherosclerotic plaque and stenosis, nearly unaffected by heart rate and carrying a relatively low radiation exposure; however, without allowing an adequate assessment of myocardial perfusion. Given the great promise of a combined cardiac CT examination to assess morphology and function, much research has recently been focused on the assessment of CT myocardial perfusion imaging. The presentation will review recent developments in cardiac CT with respect to myocardial perfusion imaging, especially the two main techniques, first-pass and dynamic CT acquisitions. Technical principles as well as available scientific evidence and future directions will be presented.
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SS 12 CV-01.pdf
