Table 1.

Vancouver General Hospital CT protocol for pre-planning and post-procedure for LAA closures with the Toshiba or Siemens scanners

Prospective cardiac-gated scans	Values
Tube potential	100 kV for BMI <30 120 kV if BMI >30
Tube current	300–500 mA with ECG tube current modulation
Scan direction	Cranial to caudal
Scan volume	Heart to diaphragm (14–16 cm)
Size	Images reconstructed to 0.5 and 0.6 mm with 40% overlap, 512 × 512 mm matrix, FOV 25cm
Detector collimation	320 × 0.5 mm Toshiba or 128 × 0.6 mm Siemens
Cardiac phase reconstruction	Relative triggering 30–40% of RR interval or absolute triggering 250 ms after R wave
Contrast bolus tracking	Sure Start (Toshiba) or Cardiac Definition (Siemens)
IV contrast injection (5 cc/s)	50–80 cc Optiray contrast, followed by 50 cc 30% contrast/70% saline mixture, and final 30 cc saline chaser
Heart rate	No restriction
Beta-blocker and nitrates	Not required

BMI, body mass index.