Technical Principles of Computed Tomographic Angiography for Adult Congenital Heart Disease

Abstract

The computed tomographic angiography (CTA) imaging protocol must be tailored to the suspected cardiac lesion and the type of prior surgical repair. The relevant parameters that need to be selected prior to imaging are contrast volume, contrast injection speed, the timing of the scan, slice collimation, scan length, tube voltage (kV), tube current (mA), and pitch. In addition, the imager must decide on the use of non-ECG-synchronized acquisition versus ECG synchronization (prospective or retrospective). In general, multidetector scanner with ≥64 rows is preferred for evaluation of congenital heart disease (CHD).