Feasibility of epicardial adipose tissue quantification in non-ECG-gated low-radiation-dose CT: comparison with prospectively ECG-gated cardiac CT:

BackgroundEpicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is an important indicator of cardiovascular risk. This parameter is generally assessed on ECG-gated computed tomography (CT) images.PurposeTo evaluate feasibility and reliability of EAT quantification on non-gated thoracic low-radiation-dose CT examinations with respect to prospectively ECG-gated cardiac CT acquisition.Material and MethodsSixty consecutive asymptomatic smokers (47 men; mean age 64 ± 9.8 years) underwent low-dose CT of the chest and prospectively ECG-gated cardiac CT acquisitions (64-slice dual-source CT). The two examinations were reconstructed with the same range, field of view, slice thickness, and convolution algorithm. Two independent observers blindly quantified EAT volume using commercially available software. Data were compared with paired sample Student t-test, concordance correlation coefficients (CCC), and Bland-Altman plots.ResultsNo statistically significant difference was observed for EAT volume quantification with low-dose-CT (141.7 ...