Feasibility study of coronary artery calcification score evaluation using non-gated chest CT

GU Haifeng; WANG Qingqing; LIANG Quan; CAI Jun; ZHANG Longjiang

Abstract：Objective To evaluate the accuracy and feasibility of evaluating coronary artery calcium score(CACS)using non-gated chest CT scan data.Methods 165 patients(BMI≤25kg/m2),who were needed to have both chest CT and coronary CT angiography as well as found to have coronary artery calcified plaque(CAC)during CACS scan,were collected in this work.All the raw data were reconstructed separately using the image reconstruction requirements of CACS.Then,we measured and computed the CT value of aortic root,standard deviation(SD),signal-to-noise ratio(SNR),the max CT value of CAC and the number,volume and mass of the CAC,and calculated the AS scores,separately.Finally statistical processing was performed.Results The two different scanning methods showed statistically significant difference in the CT value of aortic root,SD,SNR,the max CT value of CAC and the number,volume and mass of the CAC(P<0.05).Compared with CACS scan,the number of patients in the chest CT scan were significantly increased in the low risk stratification group and relatively decreased in the high risk stratification group.In the risk stratification situation,52.35%of the patients obtained by the chest CT scan were consistent with the CACS scan,and 40.94%of the patients moved down one level.Conclusions There is a little different in evaluating CACS with non-gated chest CT scan data,but considering that it only provides additional diagnostic information,as long as we pay attention to the existence of this difference when interpreting the results,it still has positive guiding significance.