SPIRAL CT OF THE LARYNX

PURPOSE: To compare conventional and spiral CT studies of the larynx. METHODS: Ten patients had both conventional and spiral CT studies of t he neck using 5-mm section collimation and 5-mm increments. The spiral scans also were reconstructed at 2-mm increments. Five patients had t wo spiral CT larynx studies with 5-mm and 2-mm collimation. Two observ ers independently rated the visibility of laryngeal structures and abs ence of motion artifact in the studies and assigned values from 1 (poo r) to 4 (excellent). RESULTS: The spiral scan images showed less motio n artifact (1.9 versus 3.6) and better anatomic detail (2.3 versus sim ilar to 2.6). Thinner reconstruction intervals and sections gave bette r anatomic detail (2.3 versus similar to 3.3). Interobserver K was 0.6 5. CONCLUSION: Spiral is better than conventional CT scanning when stu dying the larynx.