Comparison of coronary artery calcium screening image quality between C-150 and e-Speed electron beam scanners

The newest generation of electron beam tomographic scanner (e-Speed) has increased spatial and temporal resolution compared with the C-150 XP scanner. The aim of this study was to evaluate coronary artery calcium screening image quality between the e-Speed and C-150 scanners (GE Imatron, San Francisco, CA).Studies from 41 patients (14 women and 27 men) who underwent serial coronary artery calcium screening with the C-150 (first study) and the e-Speed (second study) were analyzed. Individual computed tomography (CT) slices were assessed for coronary artery motion artifacts, and CT Hounsfield units (HU) and noise values (CT HU standard deviation) at 16 discrete cardiac sites were measured and averaged.With the e-Speed scanner, there were significant decreases in right coronary artery motion artifacts compared with the C-150 scanner (0.3% versus 1.8%, P.001) as well as decreased noise values (24.3 versus 32.0 HU, P.001).Image quality is significantly improved with use of the e-Speed scanner, due to its improved temporal and spatial resolution, compared with the C-150 scanner.