HELICAL CT OF THE UPPER AIRWAY - NORMAL AND ABNORMAL FINDINGS ON 3-DIMENSIONAL RECONSTRUCTED IMAGES

Imaging of the hypopharynx, larynx, and upper airway are effectively a chieved with CT and MR imaging. These techniques have proved their dia gnostic usefulness in assessing the deep soft tissues not visible with laryngoscopy [1], However, with axial imaging, large numbers of image s often need to be mentally stacked to envision the appearance of the airway. With helical CT, we can create high-quality three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions [2, 3], Advantages of helical technology include rapid scanning, decreased motion artifact, and minimization of misregi stration artifacts, Recent work has suggested a role for multiplanar a nd 3D reconstructions of helical data for assessing the tracheobronchi al tree [3], The helically derived 3D models illustrate the normal and abnormal findings affecting the airway.