Current status and future directions in technical developments of cardiac computed tomography

Labeled as a dying modality in the late 1980s, the remarkable resurgence of computed tomography (CT) was the commercial availability of the helical CT and the multidetector-row CT (MDCT) scanners. The MDCT scanners in particular were responsible for creating new and promising opportunities for imaging the heart and the vascular system in a noninvasive manner. Recent introduction of the dual-source MDCT has further improved the temporal resolution for cardiac imaging. Work in progress on the potential of the dual-energy CT, the 256-slice MDCT, and the flat-panel volume CT, suggest the possibility of new and interesting cardiac applications. This review article describes the present status of CT in noninvasive cardiac imaging and highlights the future directions of the technology.