The use of ultra-high-resolution photon-counting CT in the evaluation of stable chest pain may significantly reduce follow-up tests and invasive coronary angiography (ICA) procedures, possibly resulting in millions in health-care cost savings, according to a cost-effectiveness analysis presented recently at the European Congress of Radiology.
By facilitating significant reductions in follow-up tests and invasive coronary angiography (ICA) procedures, the use of ultra-high resolution photon-counting detector (UHR PCD) CT for patients undergoing coronary CT angiography (CCTA) could facilitate millions in health-care cost savings.
In a cost-effectiveness analysis presented recently at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR), researchers employed Monte Carlo simulations to estimate projected costs for UHR PCD-CT and energy-integrating detector (EID)-CT for CCTA. The decision and simulation model incorporated aggregate health-care expenditures from a hospital billing system and accuracy statistics for the use of UHR PCD-CT and EID-CT in assessing 55 coronary lesions in patients who had CCTA and subsequent ICA procedures, according to the study authors.
Here one can see a comparison of energy-integrating detector (EID) CT (left images) and photon-counting detector (PCD) CT (right images) in depicting detection and segmentation of a partially calcified plaque in the left circumflex coronary artery. Recent research presented at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) conference estimated that using ultra-high resolution PCD-CT in lieu of EID-CT for stable chest pain assessment may facilitate a nearly 19 percent reduction in functional follow-up tests with coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). (Images courtesy of Radiology.)
Projecting costs for 15,000 patients with stable chest pain, the researchers estimated that UHR PCD-CT in contrast to EID-CT could reduce functional follow-up tests by 18.9 percent (5,135.7 vs. 6,330.3) and ICA procedures by 6 percent (1,360.2 vs. 1,447.7). The study authors also forecasted a 9.4 percent reduction in complications related to major procedures with the use of UHR PCD-CT.
“Over a 10-year expected life expectancy, PCD-CT led to an average cost saving of $794.50 ± 18.50 per patient and an overall cost difference of $11,917,500 ± 4,350,169,” posited lead study author Milan Vecsey-Nagy, M.D., who is affiliated with the Department of Radiology and Radiological Science at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, S.C., and colleagues.
While acknowledging the limited number of coronary lesions in the development of the decision and simulation model, the study authors maintained that PCD-CT can have a significant impact in the evaluation of stable chest pain.
“PCD-CT has the potential to reduce the financial burden on healthcare systems and procedure-related complications for stable chest pain patients with coronary calcification when compared to EID-CT,” maintained Vecsey-Nagy and colleagues.
(Editor’s note: For related content, see “Study Examines Potential of Ultra-High Spatial Resolution Photon-Counting CT for Coronary Plaque Quantification,” “Can Quantum Iterative Reconstruction Reinvent Photon-Counting CT Technology?” and “Photon-Counting CTA for Patients with PAD: What the Research Reveals About Assessment for Stenotic Lesions.”)
Reference
1. Vecsey-Nagy M, Emrich TS, Tremamunno G, et al. Cost-effectiveness of ultrahigh-resolution photon-counting detector coronary CT angiography for the evaluation of stable chest pain. Presented at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR), February 26-March 2, 2025, Vienna, Austria. Available at https://www.myesr.org/congress/ . Accessed March 6, 2025.
ASCO: Study Reveals Significant Racial/Ethnic Disparities with PSMA PET Use for Patients with mPCa
May 30th 2025Latinx patients with metastatic prostate cancer were 63 percent less likely than non-Hispanic White patients to have PSMA PET scans, according to a study of 550 patients presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference.
CT Perfusion Study Shows Enhanced Detection of Medium Vessel Occlusions with Emerging AI Software
May 21st 2025The Rapid CTP AI software offered 23 percent greater detection of medium vessel occlusions in comparison to the Viz CTP AI software, according to research presented at the European Stroke (Organization) Conference (ESOC).
Can AI Predict Future Lung Cancer Risk from a Single CT Scan?
May 19th 2025In never-smokers, deep learning assessment of single baseline low-dose computed tomography (CT) scans demonstrated a 79 percent AUC for predicting lung cancer up to six years later, according to new research presented today at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2025 International Conference.