Faculty

Cynthia H. McCollough, Ph.D.

Clinical Studies

4D Flow CT Imaging After Cardiac Valve Replacement Rochester, Minn.
The purpose of this study is to determine the changes in flow patterns and cardiac function between pre- and post-procedure 4D flow CT measurements in a cohort of participants receiving cardiac valve replacements.
Comprehensive characterization of coronary atherosclerotic disease using photon counting- detector dual-source CT and its impact on patient management Rochester, Minn.
This study will focus on demonstrating the benefits of Photon Counting Detector CT Scan (PCD-CT) for clinical indications and findings are expected to benefit the diagnosis and characterization of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) and myocardial perfusion defects.

Specific Aim:

In patients, measure the clinical impact of cardiac PCD-CT on patient diagnosis and management

Photon-counting Detector CT With Improved Spectral Resolution: Impact On Multi-energy CT Image Quality Rochester, Minn.
The purpose of this study is to determine the changes in multi-energy CT image quality of a PCD-CT scanner with improved spectral resolution relative to the existing commercial PCD-CT scanner. We hypothesize that the innovation PCD-CT scanner with improved spectral resolution will yield multi-energy CT images with increased contrast-to-noise ratio, lower image noise, more accurate material quantification, or decreased artifacts relative to multi-energy CT images acquired using the current commercial detector and that radiologists will prefer images from the innovation PCD-CT scanner. Multi-energy CT images for a range of body regions and clinical applications will be evaluated.
Trade-offs in Human Observer Performance, Image Quality Metrics, and Patient Dose Rochester, Minn.
The purpose of this study is to determine the tradeoffs between CT image quality and patient radiation dose in a way that moves beyond current simple models (e.g. standard deviation and CTDIvol) by investigating the relationships between task-based metrics of image quality, observer performance, patient size, and patient dose.

Feasibility of Discriminating Uric Acid from Non-Uric Acid Renal Stones Using Newer CT Technology Rochester, Minn.
The purpose of this study is to compare the ability to identify uric acid renal stones between alternate CT scanning techniques and the current dual-source CT scanning technique.