Dear CT Insider,
Thoracic CT is an established way of detecting structural pulmonary abnormalities. In many cases, CT scans are routinely performed clinically, but the modality provides no functional pulmonary information.
This situation has prompted researchers at a top U.K. facility to investigate the use of a CT-based full-scale airway network flow model to assess ventilation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. They compared the modeling results obtained with hyperpolarized xenon-129 MRI and SPECT imaging data. Get the full details.
The latest breakthrough involving 3D printing has taken place in Israel, where a group has produced a 3D virtual heart model based on data from a patient's CT scans. The investigators used computer-aided design software to add tiny blood vessels that aren't captured on conventional CT scans to the 3D models to ensure adequate oxygen exposure to the heart.
Adaptive cardiac conebeam CT is a gated acquisition protocol that compensates for cardiac motion during scans. It uses the patient's electrocardiogram signal to adaptively regulate gantry velocity and projection time interval, significantly reducing delivered dose while improving image quality.
Vaping may not be as safe as previously thought, according to new analysis from an experienced pair of Belgian researchers. They have voiced strong concerns about e-cigarettes, particularly their toxicity, and have presented details about five relevant clinical cases.
Meanwhile, a German team has developed a method for CT-guided spine surgery that involves combining augmented reality with a mobile CT scanner. The group acquired the CT scans of 10 patients who underwent surgery for intradural and extradural spinal lesions between June and August 2018.
Lung cancer screening with CT remains a controversial topic, so don't miss important new data from Italy.
This newsletter highlights only a few of the many articles posted recently in the CT Community. For the full list, please check out the lineup below.
