The DXP Technique as a New Tool for Abdominal Imaging

Abstract

Spiral computed tomography (SCT) is a technique that has gained wide clinical acceptance since its introduction in 1989 (Kalender et al. 1990). The two main advantages of spiral CT are a short scan time and the continuous acquisition of the scan volume. Whole organs such as lungs or liver can be imaged within a single breathhold phase. Injected contrast material can be used more efficiently: either the injected volume can be reduced (Costello et al. 1992) or the intravascular contrast can be increased (Rubin et al. 1993). Due to continuous volume acquisition, more lesions are detected (especially in the chest or liver) than with standard technique and the relation of lesions to surrounding structures can be more easily determined. Depending on the chosen scan parameters and resulting effective slice thickness, multiplanar reformats of excellent quality can be obtained without dose increase (Soucek et al. 1990).