Multipath curved planar reformation of the peripheral arterial tree in CT angiography.

The study was approved by the institutional review board, and informed consent was obtained. The purpose of the study was to prospectively quantify the angular visibility range, determine the existence of orthogonal viewing pairs, and characterize the conditions that cause artifacts in multipath curved planar reformations (MPCPRs) of the peripheral arterial tree in 10 patients (eight men and two women; mean age, 69 years; range, 54-80 years) with peripheral arterial occlusive disease. Percentage of segments with the maximal possible visibility score of 1 was significantly greater (odds ratio, 1.42; P<.001) for MPCPRs than for maximum intensity projections. One or more orthogonal viewing pairs were identified for all above-knee arterial segments, and artifactual vessel distortion was observed when the vessel axis approached a horizontal course in MPCPRs.