Petrosal bone: Coronal reconstructions from axial spiral CT data obtained with 0.5-mm collimation can replace direct coronal sequential CT scans

PURPOSE: To investigate whether coronal multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) images of the petrosal bone from axial spiral computed tomographic (CT) data obtained with 0.5-mm collimation can replace direct coronal sequential CT scans obtained with 0.5- or 1.0-mm collimation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The differences in diagnostic quality between thin-section coronal sequential CT scans of 24 petrosal bones in 12 patients and matched MPR images were assessed by five observers. The matched MPR images were calculated with both trilinear and tricubic interpolation. Image resolution was determined by measuring the three-dimensional point spread function. RESULTS: All observers preferred tricubically interpolated MPR images over trilinearly interpolated images. Subjective differences in image quality between direct coronal scans and matched tricubically interpolated MPR images were small. Only the direct coronal scans with the highest image quality (0.5-mm collimation, 465 mAs) were judged to be slightly better than the matched MPR images. With regard to direct coronal scans obtained at 245 mAs and/or 1.0-mm collimation, either there was no preference or the MPR images were preferred. CONCLUSION: Coronal MPR images from axial spiral CT obtained with 0.5-mm collimation can replace direct coronal sequential CT scans.