One hundred CT scans of the chest and 300 CT scans of the brain have been included in this study. All studies were performed by a helical CT scanner (Philips 5000 SR) with the standard protocol and were randomly selected due to the presence of either streak or motion artifacts. Segmental reconstruction was applied in all cases by the same experienced radiographer. Image evaluation was performed by two experienced radiologists using a scoring system for each artifact and a grading system for classifying post-processing images.
Among series of images that were evaluated after the application of segmental reconstruction, brain examinations demonstrated the following results: 10.9 % of the cases showed no artifact improvement, 19.6 % showed slight artifact improvement 31.5 % showed moderate improvement and 38 % showed significant improvement. The results of chest examinations were as follows: 27 % of the cases showed no artifact improvement, 23 % showed slight artifact improvement, 26 % showed moderate improvement and 24 % of showed significant improvement. Spatial reconstruction was useless in brain CT images when a patient moved during the entire scan and in chest CT images when streak and motion artifacts co-existed.
Spatial reconstruction may improve the image quality in brain and chest CT examinations and thus may contribute to more diagnostic images. Elimination of motion artifacts is also suggested due to the limitation of intravenous contrast medium that can be administered per patient per day and in cases of non-cooperative patients.