Hepatobiliary imaging by MDCT

Abstract

Hepatobiliary imaging by computed tomography (CT) has advanced impressively since the introduction of multidetector CT (MDCT) scanners in the late 1990s. Over the last few years, the number of detector rows has increased progressively from four, to eight, to 16, and then up to 64. Two important advantages of MDCT are the routine use of thinner, submillimeter sections, which yield higher spatial resolution, along the Z-axis and decrease in gantry rotation time, which result in a significantly reduced scan time. Sixteen-, 32- and 64-slice scanners allow the acquisition of data sets with nearly isotropic voxels for multiplanar imaging (e.g., coronal and sagittal plane), which has similar spatial resolution compared with axial planes. These off-axis reformations are particularly helpful for evaluating the hepatic vascular anatomy, the biliary system, and the segmental distribution of hepatic lesions. Since thin-section collination also reduces partial volume averaging, sensitivity and specificity for detecting and characterizing increases, especially for small focal hepatic lesions, whether benign or malignant. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Milan.