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Image Corner

High-Quality cCTA Imaging Enables FFRct Analysis

Images courtesy of Medscan Barangaroo, Sydney, Australia

March 2018
Siemens cCTA Imaging Figure 1
Figure 1. Parallel range view of the heart.

Physicians strive to avoid unnecessary invasive angiograms when determining the extent of coronary artery disease (CAD) in a patient as well as CAD’s impact on blood flow to the heart.

Case Report

Siemens cCTA Imaging Figure 2
Figure 2. Curved-planar reformats (CPR) of the left anterior descending (LAD) artery, left circumflex (LCX) artery, and right coronary artery (RCA). (Orange arrows in all images indicate the area of narrowing where the flow drop begins.)
Siemens cCTA Imaging Figure 3
Figure 3. Cinematic-rendered view of the heart.
Siemens cCTA Imaging Figure 4
Figure 4. Image of FFRCT 3D model of coronary arteries (courtesy HeartFlow).

During an outpatient visit, a 73-year-old male presents with symptoms of chest pain on exertion. Physicians perform a coronary computed tomography angiogram (cCTA) using a dual source CT system (the SOMATOM Drive from Siemens Healthineers) that enables fast temporal resolution (75 ms) cardiac examinations. The presence of considerable calcifications, plaque, and vessel narrowing prompts the use of noninvasive FFRCT analysis software (from HeartFlow) to assess the effect on coronary flow. The FFRCT analysis indicates a drop in flow in the left circumflex artery (LCX) at levels that may suggest the need for intervention. 

 

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