Abstract
BACKGROUND This study aimed to evaluate the effect of SnapShot Freeze 2 (SSF2) on reducing pulsation artifacts in coronary artery imaging of patients with high heart rates, compared with SnapShot Freeze (SSF) and not using SSF (no-SSF). MATERIAL AND METHODS End-diastolic (70-80% phase) and end-systolic (40-50% phase) images from 50 patients with heart rates above 80 bpm who underwent coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) in the Department of Radiology at our hospital between January and June 2023 were included. Subjective, objective, and artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled assessments were performed to evaluate image quality across coronary artery segments, artifact indices, and number of coronary artery segments detected by the AI system for images processed with each algorithm. RESULTS SSF2 yielded significantly higher subjective image-quality scores than SSF and no-SSF in both diastolic and systolic phases (all P<0.001). The artifact index was significantly lower in SSF2 images (F=25.645, P<0.05 for diastolic phases; F=6.959, P<0.05 for systolic phases). In the AI-enabled evaluation, SSF2 images contained significantly more analyzable coronary artery segments than those reconstructed with SSF or without motion correction (all P<0.05), indicating improved image interpretability after SSF2 reconstruction. CONCLUSIONS SSF2 may improve coronary artery image quality and reduce motion artifacts in patients with high heart rates during CCTA. These findings suggest that SSF2 enhances both subjective assessment and AI-based diagnostic performance, although further multicenter studies are warranted to confirm its clinical impact.