Spiral CT of the pancreas

Purpose: to compare the value of a retrospective targeted high-resolution spiral CT to the standard reconstruction technique in the assessment of pancreatic diseasesMaterial and Methods: Spiral CT pancreatic images of a standard-size reconstruction protocol were compared prospectively with those of a retrospective targeted high-spatial-resolution reconstruction protocol in 30 patients. Prior to clinical evaluation, a phantom study was performed to evaluate the spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio of both protocolsResults: the high-resolution protocol achieved a good signal-to-noise ratio with acceptable spatial resolution. Phantom studies revealed increased image noise (+17%) with an increase in spatial resolution (+100%). in patients studied with the high-resolution protocol, the increase in noise was not significant but there was a marked improvement in the definition of small detailsConclusion: Images obtained with a targeted high-spatial-resolution reconstruction protocol showed superior lesio...