Medical Radiology

Preface Multi-detector row technology has become an established CT imaging modality worldwide. Nowadays, clinical applications such as multi-detector row CT angiography, and in particular cardiac CT, assume greater importance in daily routine. Furthermore, the scope of multi-detector row CT applications has expanded and requires different investigation strategies. To exploit the full potential of multi-detector row CT, a fundamental knowledge of the tech- nique and optimal investigation strategies in terms of patient preparation, contrast medium administration, and image interpretation is mandatory. The new generation of CT scanners, in particular dual-source CT, provides new opportunities and challenges by expanding the clinical applications. The 5th International Symposium on Multi-Detector Row CT has brought together a variety of CT specialists with individual areas of expertise. This conference had a mission to educate the participants in multi-detector row CT skills rather than simply presenting the recent develop- ments in technology and research.With about 1,000 attendees, this conference was a tremendous success and gained wide attention all over the world. This volume has not been designed primarily as a reference book on multi-detector row CT. The idea of this book was rather to provide fundamental knowledge combined with an update on the latest CT scanner technology in challenging clinical areas. The book therefore supports the mission of the conference perfectly, with its profound discussion of different applications and investigation strategies. We are grateful to Prof. Albert Baert for stimulating us to edit again this volume of the “Medi- cal Radiology” series. The publisher, Springer-Verlag, enthusiastically supported the idea and provided us with invaluable assistance.We hope this book will be valuable to all those interested in multi-detector row CT. Munich Maximilian F. Reiser Munich Christoph R. Becker Munich Konstantin Nikolaou Stanford Gary Glazer