Qualitative blood flow differentiation - Depiction of a left to right cardiac shunt across a ventricular septal defect using electron-beam computed tomography

Three-dimensional imaging using electron-beam computed tomography (EBCT) ha s been used to assess static anatomical information in heart disease. With volume rendering, differences in objects can be distinguished through selec tion of the shape of opacity and color curves for CT values. If there is a difference between the CT values for arterial and venous blood, differences in opacity and color between them can be set. In a newborn baby with a lef t to right cardiac shunt across the ventricular septal defect (VSD), EBCT c ould depict arterial blood crossing the VSD into the right ventricle.