MDCT of the pancreas

With multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT), images of the pancreas can be acquired with less than 1-mm collimation and viewed with reconstructed slice thickness ranging from 1 to 5 mm. Thus images are reconstructed from isotropic or nearly isotropic voxels, depending upon the specific acquisition parameters used. This technique enables very high-quality three-dimensional, multiplanar and curved planar reconstructions to be acquired. Consequently, large CT data sets can be viewed efficiently as volumes, rather than as individual transverse slices. The ability to view the image data as a volume also makes it easier to communicate the results efficiently to referring physicians, using a limited number of selected volume-rendered or multiplanar images. These images can be reconstructed to demonstrate the pancreatic duct, bile ducts, and peripancreatic vessels in a clinically relevant fashion.