Spiral CT of the liver: current applications.

Spiral CT allows rapid imaging of the liver resulting in improved contrast dynamics compared with conventional CT techniques. Improved lesion detection has been shown with spiral CT by using overlapping reconstruction intervals and by eliminating respiratory misregistration. Vascular and parenchymal abnormalities, including portal venous thrombosis or cirrhosis with development of collateral vessels, are readily appreciated using spiral technique. Combining spiral CT and portography enhances lesion detection by maintaining high levels of hepatic contrast enhancement for the duration of the liver scan.