Fifty-one patients were examined with bone subtraction CT angiography (BSCTA). Data
were acquired on 4- and 64-slice spiral CT systems. The postprocessing method is based
on fully automatic registration of nonenhanced and contrast-enhanced CT data and subsequent
selective bone removal. Vascular structures and brain tissue are retained with the
original CTA noise level. Image quality and delineation of the pathologic process
were assessed, and artifacts were introduced by the bone removal process recorded.
The bone subtraction algorithm worked successfully in all examinations. The processing
time was 6 min on average. Image quality was rated excellent in 20 (39%), good in
26 (51%), and acceptable in five (10%) patients. Ophthalmic arteries were visible
in 12 (24%) patients bilaterally, in 13 (25%) patients unilaterally, and in 26 (51%)
patients at least at the origin. BSCTA improved visualization of the infraclinoid
ICA and the vertebral arteries. The depiction of stenosis of the extracranial ICA
and supraclinoid aneurysms was not significantly improved. In patients with suspicion
of sinus thrombosis, BSCTA and conventional CTA yielded similar results. To conclude,
BSCTA improves the visualization of vessels with close contact to bone and can improve
the diagnostic accuracy and therapy planning of infraclinoid aneurysms.
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Publication history
Published online: July 11, 2006
Identification
Copyright
© 2006 Published by Elsevier Inc.
