Multislice helical CT of the central airways

The advent of multislice helical CT (MSCT) has revolutionized CT imaging of the central airways [1 - 6]. In comparison with single-detector helical CT (SDCT), MSCT provides faster speed, greater coverage, improved spatial resolution, and the unique ability to create thick and thin sections from the same dataset [1-6]. Importantly, MSCT also is associated with significantly improved quality of multiplanar and three-dimensional reconstruction images (Fig. 1) [2, 5-8]. Such images have the potential to facilitate the assessment of a wide variety of central airway disorders. This article describes methods of central airway imaging with MSCT, with a special emphasis on the emerging role of multiplanar and three-dimensional images in the assessment of central airway disorders.