New hybrid reformations of peripheral CT angiography: do we still need axial images?

PURPOSE To quantify the detectability of peripheral artery stenosis on hybrid CT angiography (CTA) reformations. METHODS Hybrid reformations were developed by combining multipath curved planar reformations (mpCPR) and maximum intensity projections (MIP). Fifty peripheral CTAs were evaluated twice: either with MIP, mpCPR and axial images or with hybrid reformations only. Digital subtraction angiography served as gold standard. RESULTS Using hybrid reformations, two independent readers detected 88.0% and 81.3% of significant stenosis, respectively. However, CTA including axial images detected statistically significant more lesions (98%). CONCLUSION Peripheral CTA reading including axial images is still recommended. Further improvement of these hybrid reformations is necessary.