Dual energy cardiac computed tomography

Abstract

Conventional single energy CT suffers from technical limitations related to the polychromatic nature of X-rays. Dual energy cardiac CT (DE CT) shows promise to attenuate and even overcome some of these limitations, and might broaden the scope of patients eligible for cardiac CT towards the inclusion of higher risk patients. This might be achieved as a result of both safety (contrast reduction) and physiopathological (myocardial perfusion and characterization) issues. In this article, we will review the main clinical cardiac applications of DE CT, that can be summarized in two core aspects: coronary artery evaluation, and myocardial evaluation.