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Technical Principles of CT

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Pan Vascular Medicine

Abstract

The first computed tomography (CT) systems, introduced in 1972, produced image slices which represent the distribution of the object’s X-ray attenuation in the image plane. Since then the progress to third generation fan beam geometry and continuous spiral scanning has changed CT from a sequential single-slice imaging technology to a continuous-volume imaging modality. The introduction of spiral acquisition in 1991 was a first breakthrough for CT in vascular diagnosis with contrast-enhanced CT angiography (CTA) examinations. A second major leap in CT technology came with the advent of multislice acquisition in 1998. This technology allows for almost isotropic three-dimensional (3D) spatial resolution, short examination times, and coverage of large volumes for CT angiographic imaging of the abdominal, cerebral, and peripheral vessels. Furthermore, very short image acquisition times due to increased gantry rotation speed in combination with ECG synchronization allow for diagnosis of the heart, the cardiovascular vessels, and the coronary arteries.

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Ohnesorge, B., Kopp, A.F., Becker, C.R., Knez, A., Schröder, S., Flohr, T. (2002). Technical Principles of CT. In: Lanzer, P., Topol, E.J. (eds) Pan Vascular Medicine. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56225-9_29

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56225-9_29

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-62565-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-56225-9

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