CT (computed tomography)
A CT scan is a fast 3D X-ray that shows the size and shape of tumours and whether they have spread.
Overview
Computed tomography rotates an X-ray source and detector around the body and reconstructs the measured attenuation into cross-sectional images, with iodinated contrast highlighting vasculature. In use since 1971, it is the workhorse of staging and response assessment and the standard measurement tool for RECIST. It is fast, ubiquitous, offers sub-millimetre resolution and is excellent for lung, liver, bone and lymph nodes. Its limits are that it shows anatomy only, so it cannot distinguish scar from live tumour or give biological information, it has limited soft-tissue contrast, it performs poorly for brain, marrow and small peritoneal disease, and it delivers ionising radiation. Photon-counting CT improves resolution at lower dose, while PET/CT and MRI fill the gaps in biology and soft tissue. CT is the quick 3D X-ray that most cancer decisions are measured against.
- Rotating X-ray tube
- Lung nodule
How it works
A rotating X-ray source and detector measure attenuation, which is reconstructed into cross-sectional images. Iodinated contrast highlights vasculature.
- Fast, ubiquitous
- Sub-millimetre resolution
- Standard for RECIST response
- Anatomic only; cannot distinguish scar from live tumour
- Radiation dose
- Poor for brain, marrow, and small peritoneal disease
Dependencies
Open the dependency map →Nothing recorded yet: a foundation, or a gap to fill.
Dependencies are what this technology cannot be delivered without: manufacturing steps, instruments, software, upstream methods. See its full chain on the map.
Latest papers
topQuery for this technology: (TITLE:"computed tomography" OR ABSTRACT:"computed tomography" OR TITLE:"photon-counting CT" OR ABSTRACT:"photon-counting CT") AND (radiopharmaceutical OR radioligand OR radionuclide OR theranostic OR "nuclear medicine" OR "molecular imaging" OR radiotracer OR scintigraphy OR cancer OR tumor OR tumour OR oncology OR carcinoma OR lymphoma OR leukemia OR leukaemia OR myeloma OR sarcoma OR melanoma OR glioma) AND (staging OR screening OR response). Results are unfiltered search hits about CT (computed tomography), not a curated reading list.
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1Open tools
All open tools by front →Open-source software, hardware and data projects catalogued by a third party, the Open Medical Registry, that bear on this technology. Listing is not endorsement; check each project's own licence and validation before clinical use.
- 3D SlicerSlicer-1.0verified by registrysoftware
Desktop platform for medical image visualisation, segmentation, registration, and image-guided therapy research.
- invesalius3GPL-2.0software
3D medical imaging reconstruction software
- TotalSegmentator-OsiriX-Horos-PluginApache-2.0software
Swift Horos/OsiriX plugin that exports active CT/MR series, provisions an isolated Python TotalSegmentator environment, runs segmentation, and imports...
From the Open Medical Registry (openmedical.sh), an MIT-licensed catalogue of open-source medicine. Blurbs are one line from each registry record; every project keeps its own licence.