The CT exam demonstrates normal right cavities, left atrium, aortic and mitral valves. The left ventricle is dilated with antero-septo-apical necrosis characterized by a sub-endocardium hypodensity. Thinning of the myocardium and apical thrombus were identified

A 35-year-old woman (1.67m, 51 kg, BMI = 18.3) with history of acute infarct caused by proximal Left Anterior Descending (LAD) artery thrombosis, was treated by two stents in 2003.

A Coronary CTA exam is requested to evaluate her coronary arteries and the patency of the two stents. The exam is performed on the new low-dose Cardiac CT scanner, LightSpeed VCT XT (GE Healthcare).

The exam was performed on the new low-dose Cardiac CT scanner, LightSpeed VCT XT (GE Healthcare), using the SnapShot Pulse™ mode. This mode is based on prospective gating and axial aquisition that allows to reduce radiation dose up to 83% compared to helical acquisition with no compromise on image quality. Scan parameters were optimized considering the morphology, the age of the patient and the indication of the exam. The dose delivered during the examination was only 2.2 mSv* (DLP= 133 mGy.cm) and the total X-Ray exposure time was 1.5 seconds.

* Obtained by EUR-16262 EN using chest factor of 0.017 x DLP

The patient has a right-dominant heart with a normal Right Coronary Artery (RCA) giving off normal Posterior Descending Artery (PDA) and Postero Lateral Branch (PLB).

On the left side, the Left Main Trunk (LMT) is normal and the LAD is patent. On the LAD segment I, the two stents are contiguously positioned, patent, and demonstrate no sign of restenosis or occlusion. There is also no evidence of intimal hyperplasia

The first and second diagonal branches are normal

The Left Circumflex (LCx) artery and the Left Marginal Branch (LMB) are also normal. The multi-angle analysis of the LMT reveals an intermediate branch perfectly displayed.

The coronary CT exam of this young woman with stents was performed with the new low-dose technique SnapShot Pulse™ on LightSpeed VCT XT (only 2.2 mSv)

This new scanning technique allows coronary artery imaging with an excellent image quality in a very short X-Ray exposure time.

Dose reduction of up to 83% compared to usual helical scanning, makes SnapShot Pulse™ an ideal minimally invasive coronary evaluation method for all patients, and especially for follow-up exams where radiation dose reduction is of very important consideration.

For comparison, the dose delivered during cardiac catheterization is between 1 to 10 mSv and the annual natural background radiation is 3 mSv.