Cardiac computed tomography

Abstract

Rapid technological advances have allowed for the application of computed tomography imaging for the evaluation of the heart. Cardiac computed tomography scanning is now a standard method to investigate the anatomical structure of the heart and, most commonly, the coronary vasculature, given the prevalence of coronary artery disease and its associated morbidity and mortality. Due to the heart’s constant motion and the relatively small luminal diameters of the coronary arteries, scanning the heart and coronaries by computed tomography presents unique challenges for image acquisition normally not encountered when imaging other anatomical areas.