Effect of voice-region-of-interest bolus-tracking protocol for pre-procedural (catheter ablation) cardiac computed tomography in atrial fibrillation patient

Abstract

We compared the arterial contrast enhancement and image noise reduction between the conventional bolus-tracking and voice-region-of-interest (ROI) bolus-tracking techniques in cardiac computed tomography (CCT) on a 320-row scanner. This study enrolled 110 patients who underwent CCT for pre-catheter ablation of paroxysmal or persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) in our center between October 2021 and December 2021. Fifty-five patients underwent scanning with the voice-ROI bolus-tracking technique, while another 55 patients underwent scanning without (conventional ROI bolus-tracking technique). The contrast enhancement in the left atrium (LA), left atrial appendage (LAA) and four pulmonary veins (left superior, left inferior, right superior and right inferior) was slightly higher in the voice-ROI group, but the differences were not significant (p > 0.05). The noise in the CCT images of the LA, LAA, and three pulmonary veins (left superior, left inferior, and right superior pulmonary veins) was significantly lower in the voice-ROI group than in the group without ROI (p < 0.05). The using of the bolus-tracking protocol with voice-ROI can provide comparable arterial contrast enhancement and image noise reduction for pre-procedural (catheter ablation) CCT on a 320-row scanner for AF patients.