Computed tomography (CT) has become an important imaging tool to evaluate cardiac anatomy. This three-dimensional, isotropic imaging technique provides volumetric datasets with submillimetre tissue resolution that can be post-processed to define the cardiac structures. CT has become the mainstay imaging technique for selection of patients for, and planning of, transcatheter interventions for structural heart disease. Electrocardiographic-gated CT permits acquisition of cardiac datasets along the cardiac cycle enabling assessment of left and right ventricular function and valvular heart disease. In addition, the advent of three-dimensional printing technologies, which use three-dimensional patient-specific models frequently obtained from CT datasets, has opened a myriad of possibilities in terms of development of anatomical teaching tools, functional models to assess vessel and valve function, planning surgical or transcatheter interventions, and designing of transcatheter cardiac devices. This chapter reviews the role of CT in assessing cardiac morphology and function and valvular heart disease.
Computed tomography: a powerful imaging technique in the fields of dimensional metrology and quality control