Research
Dynamic myocardial CT perfusion imaging
Myocardial infarction and ischemia is a very common and important cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. To prevent these potential life-threatening consequences early detection of coronary artery disease is crucial. Dynamic CT perfusion is a novel technique that visualizes early perfusion defects and together with cardiac CT angiography (CTA) combine both anatomical and functional information for early detection of coronary artery disease and cardiac ischemia. Besides their evident diagnostic value, cardiac CTA and CTP can guide therapeutic decisions: i.e., the use of conservative vs. invasive treatment. In this project, we perform two clinical implementation studies using cardiac CTP in patients with NSTEMI in the emergency department. Our aim is to evaluate the performance of CTA and CTP combined for diagnosis of hemodynamically significant coronary artery disease and vulnerable coronary plaques. Besides clinical relevant outcome parameters, our studies aim to optimize the CTP acquisition protocol with special attention for radiation dose and image quality with and without application of noise reduction filter.
Contrast inflow to the left ventricle in stress and rest protocols of dynamic myocardial CT perfusion.
Researchers:
Jesse Habets