Evaluation of the carotid and vertebral arteries: comparison of 3D SCTA and IA-DSA-work in progress

Abstract.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop a method for three-dimensional (3D) visualization of the whole vascular system of the carotid and vertebral arteries using spiral computed tomographic angiography (SCTA), that allows accurate, qualitative and quantitative evaluation, of anatomical abnormalities, including detection of additional lesions, and estimation of degree of stenosis. Materials and methods: Fifteen patients with anatomical and pathological abnormalities of the arterial vascular system detected by color-coded duplex ultrasound were studied using intraarterial digital subtraction angiography (IA-DSA) with aortic arch injection, and SCTA. The carotid and vertebral arteries were segmented using an interactive threshold interval density volume-growing method and visualized with a color-coded shaded-surface display (SSD) rendering method. The adjacent bone structures were visualized using a transparent volume rendering method. Results: In all cases, the entire volume of the vascular system of the carotid and vertebral arteries could be visualized on SCTA, and the anatomical and pathological abnormalities on 3D SCTA correlated well with that seen on IA-DSA. Conclusion: Results of 3D SCTA had a high degree of correlation with results of IA-DSA in the evaluation of the vascular system of the carotid and vertebral arteries. The 3D SCTA with a subsecond spiral CT scanner is useful for the visualization of anatomical and pathological abnormalities in the circulation in the carotid and vertebral arteries and offer a promising minimally invasive alternative compared with other diagnostic procedures.