Specific Anatomic Region

Liver

Application

Suspected metastases from colon cancer

Author

Ch'en IY et al.

Reference Source

J Comput Assist Tomogr 21(3):391-397

Scanner Used

Somatom Plus-4 or GE HiSpeed Advantage

Injection Rate

5ml/sec

Contrast Volume and Type

200ml of Omnipaque-300

Area Scanned

Entire liver

Scan Delay

25-30sec (arterial)60-70sec (portal venous)

Length of Spiral (time)

Up to 30sec

Slice Thickness

5mm

Table Speed/Pitch

5-8mm/sec or a pitch of 1-1.6

Reconstruction Interval

2.5mm

3D Technique Used

None

Comment: Although a dual-phase study might in theory be better, our experience and that of Ch'en et al. shows little difference in actual results. Dual-phase spiral CT does not appear to be indicated in the evaluation of liver metastases from colon cancer. Portal-venous-phase imaging alone is necessary.