Cardiac Dual-Energy CT Applications and Clinical Impact

Abstract

To provide an updated review on the applications of dual-energy CT (DECT) for cardiac and coronary imaging and the clinical impact therein. This review also attempts to provide guidance for the appropriate clinical use of DECT of the heart. Simultaneous image acquisition at different kilovolt (kV) levels using DECT techniques offers a wide range of post-processing capabilities for cardiac imaging. Initially used for research purposes, this emerging technique is slowly being adopted into clinical routine for both coronary and myocardial imaging. Former limitations have been addressed in the development of DECT hardware and software. In addition to heavily validated analytical DECT approaches, various investigational techniques are evolving that may provide clinical value in the future. DECT leads to more comprehensive and accurate diagnosis of myocardial and coronary disease by providing several ancillary analyses in addition to conventional CT images. However, the application of DECT should continue to be refined and further validated in future studies.