Measuring noncalcified coronary atherosclerotic plaque using voxel analysis with MDCT angiography: phantom validation.

Objective: This purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy and reproducibility of a voxel analysis technique for measuring noncalcified plaque in the coronary arteries.
Materials and Methods: Polyethylene phantoms representing noncalcified plaque were scanned in both MDCT and micro-CT scanners and inter- and intrareader variability of volume calculation was performed.
Results: Volume measurements by both MDCT and micro-CT were comparable to the true volume as measured by micrometry (< 3%, p = 0.05).
Conclusion: There appears to be no significant difference (< 3%) between MDCT and micro-CT measurements.