What advantage does helical (spiral) CT offer over conventional sequential CT?

Helical (spiral) CT offers the significant advantage of continuous data acquisition. This technology allows for the scanner to rotate around the patient while simultaneously moving the patient through the gantry. This continuous movement results in the acquisition of a series of contiguous image slices without the need to stop between each rotation, which is characteristic of conventional sequential CT.

This method not only improves the efficiency of the scanning process, reducing scan times, but also enhances the ability to capture moving organs more effectively, such as the heart or lungs. The continuous nature of data collection facilitates the reconstruction of images into different planes and volumes, which is particularly useful in applications like 3D reconstruction and enhanced contrast resolution.

While other advantages, such as higher resolution images, reduced image artifacts, and larger fields of view, may be associated with various CT technologies, the hallmark feature of helical CT is its ability to capture data continuously, integrating motion to create a more comprehensive and precise representation of the anatomy being examined.