Evaluation of coronary artery lumen diameter with 16-slice multidetector-row computed tomography

Background: When using 16-slice multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) to detect coronary artery stenosis, coronary arteries measuring 1.5 mm or larger in lumen diameter are usually evaluated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency of the visualized lumen in each coronary artery segment measuring more than 1.5 mm in diameter. Methods and Results: Electrocardiographic-gated 16-slice MDCT was used to scan 20 patients after administration of nitroglycerin. The luminal diameter of each coronary artery segment was measured on cross-sectional images using a caliper method. The frequency of the visualized lumen of each coronary artery segment measuring larger than 1.5 mm in diameter was as follows: #1: 100%, #2: 100%, #3: 100%, #4PD:85%, #4AV:80%, #5: 100%, #6: 100%, #7: 100%, #8: 90%, #9: 85%, #10: 40%, #11: 100%, #12: 65%, #13: 100%, #14: 80%. Averaged lumen diameter± standard deviation (mm) larger than 1.5 mm in all patients was calculated as follows: #1: 3.8±0.70, #2: 3.5±0.69, #3: 3.2±0.82, #5: 4.2±1.04, #6: 3.4±0.79, #7: 2.9±0.62, #11: 2.9±0.69, #13: 2.6±0.57. Conclusion: Luminal diameter larger than 1.5 mm of each coronary artery segment can be assessed in most cases by 16-slice MDCT.