HELICAL CT ANGIOGRAPHY WITH MULTIPLANAR REFORMATION TECHNIQUES AND CLINICAL-APPLICATIONS

The technique and potential clinical applications of multiplanar refor mation (MPR) of imaging data from helical computed tomography (CT) to display images of the blood vessels in the abdomen and the thorax are described, Helical CT was performed following bolus intravenous contra st material enhancement ia patients with suspected tumor involvement o f vessels in various regions of the body, The axial images were stacke d to form a volume of imaging data from which a plane could be selecte d to display the desired vascular image in a two-dimensional format, V arious techniques were used to change the image plane so that differen t vessels in different regions of the body could be displayed, includi ng the splanchnic vessels around the pancreas, the portal veins and he patic artery in the porta hepatis, the renal vessels, and the venae ca vae and aorta, Rotation from a coronal or sagittal plane was necessary to display most vessels, The technique is practical and reproducible, but it requires that the operator be knowledgeable about vascular ana tomy, Helical CT angiography with MPR has the potential to display vas cular images that are similar to angiograms.