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COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHIC IMAGING PROTOCOL FOR THE CANINE CERVICAL AND LUMBAR SPINE
Author(s) -
DREES RANDI,
DENNISON SOPHIE E.,
KEULER NICHOLAS S.,
SCHWARZ TOBIAS
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
veterinary radiology and ultrasound
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.541
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1740-8261
pISSN - 1058-8183
DOI - 10.1111/j.1740-8261.2008.01493.x
Subject(s) - medicine , spinal canal , spinal cord , nuclear medicine , radiology , biomedical engineering , psychiatry
Computed tomography (CT) has been applied previously for assessment of canine spinal disease using a multitude of different technical imaging parameters. The purpose of this study was to establish an optimized imaging protocol for the cervical and lumbar canine spine using a single‐detector‐row helical CT unit. Thin slice thickness (1–2 mm), low pitch (axial scan mode, helical pitch <2), and medium‐frequency image reconstruction algorithm significantly improved the visibility of the intervertebral disk and spinal cord. Tube current, helical reconstruction interval, and the use of an additional edge enhancement filter had no significant effect on the visibility of the intervertebral disk and spinal cord. There was also no interaction between the use of an additional edge enhancement filter and image reconstruction algorithm. Use of an additional edge enhancement filter introduced a double ring artifact in the periphery of the spinal canal lumen that did not correspond to the spinal cord or pachymeningeal margin.