Evaluation of CT Angiography and CT Virtual Endoscopy in the Diagnosis of Extracranial Carotid Artery Stenosis

Purpose: To determin the accuracy of CT angiography (CTA)、CT virtual endoscopy (CTVE) in the evaluation of the extracranial carotid artery stenosis. Materials and Methods: nine patients were studied with CTA、CTVE. The results were compared with images obtained with DSA, MRA and DUS. CTA was acquired using 3mm slices, reconstructed at lmm slice interval and postprocessed using MIP and SSD to create 3D images. CTVE: spiral CT data sets were surface rendered by using navigator smooth function. Three patients with severe stenosis (70%～99%) were received carotid endarterectomy. Results: 18 carotid arteries studied included mild stenosis in 6, moderate in 3, severe in 4 and normal in 5. Agreement on stenosis category between CTA and DSA was found in 7 of 8 carotid arteries studied. Plaques were well delineated in CTA, CTVE, and confirmed by pathology in 3 cases. The release of stenosis was proved by postoperative MRA and CTA. Conclusion: CTA is an accurate method for the assessment of carotid artery stenosis. CTVE can be used to create endoscopic views of the carotid artery stenosis.