Login Register now Motion Correction Sharpens Early Post-CA1 World Patient Safety Day, 17 September 21 Synthetic Health Data Metrics May Miss S1 WHO Updates Typhoid Vaccine Guidance Targeted Left Ventricular Lead Placement1 Motion Correction Sharpens Early Post-CA1 World Patient Safety Day, 17 September 21 Synthetic Health Data Metrics May Miss S1 WHO Updates Typhoid Vaccine Guidance Targeted Left Ventricular Lead Placement1 In Healthmanagement Mon, 5 Oct 2026 Breathing-related image degradation in computed tomography angiography (CTA) soon after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery may be substantially reduced with motion-correction reconstruction. Among postoperative patients whose standard scans showed relevant respiratory artefacts, the technique improved image quality across bypass grafts, native coronary arteries and other thoracic structures. It also converted every anatomical region initially rated non-diagnostic into an evaluable image. The approach addresses a practical problem in early postoperative imaging, when patients may struggle to maintain a stable breath-hold and assessment of bypass grafts requires a relatively extended scan range. However, the evidence is limited to patients who already had visible breathing artefacts and does not establish whether improved image quality leads to greater diagnostic accuracy or better clinical decisions. Motion Correction Rescues Degraded Images The clearest benefit was the recovery of anatomical regions that could not be adequately assessed on standard reconstructions. Across evaluations by 2 blinded readers, 58 regions were initially considered non-diagnostic because of breathing-related artefacts. After application of the correction algorithm, all became diagnostically evaluable, with most receiving the best image-quality score. Must Read: AI CT Tool Refines Coronary Stenosis Assessment Improvement was not confined to the bypass grafts themselves. Artefact severity fell significantly across all assessed regions, including the native coronary arteries, aorta, pulmonary trunk, lungs and trachea and sternum. Images affected by double contours, blurring and discontinuities became more anatomically consistent after correction. The change was also visible in individual postoperative cases. Standard images showed breathing-related blurring or double images involving structures such as pulmonary vessels, the sternum, pulmonary trunk and bypass graft anastomoses, while corresponding corrected reconstructions reduced or resolved these abnormalities. No new artefacts, vessel deformation or loss of diagnostic detail were observed in the corrected datasets. Reader agreement remained high, ranging from substantial to almost perfect across the evaluated structures. Early Postoperative Imaging Presents a Challenge Respiratory motion is a relevant obstacle when CTA is performed shortly after bypass surgery. Patients recovering from CABG may have difficulty maintaining the stable breath-hold needed for image acquisition, while imaging the full course of bypass grafts requires greater anatomical coverage than standard cardiac CT. Among 680 consecutive patients undergoing CTA during the early in-hospital period after CABG surgery, relevant breathing artefacts were identified on standard reconstructions in 80. Five could not undergo retrospective reconstruction because the necessary raw data were unavailable, leaving 75 patients with 205 bypass grafts for evaluation. Their scans were performed at a median of 4 days after surgery. The correction technique was applied only to this selected group with clearly visible respiratory artefacts. It therefore does not indicate how much benefit would be expected across all patients undergoing postoperative CTA. The algorithm was designed to correct misalignment between adjacent image sections. It uses overlapping acquisition data to calculate spatial shifts and realign affected image stacks into a more consistent volume. Although previously used to address stair-step artefacts related to heart-rate variability, the same approach was observed to reduce discontinuities caused by respiratory movement. Diagnostic Impact Remains Uncertain The image-quality improvement suggests a potential role for motion correction when respiratory motion compromises early postoperative CTA, and the technique has been incorporated into the institution’s routine protocol for evaluating patients after CABG surgery. Its clinical value, however, remains unresolved. The evaluation focused on technical image quality and artefact reduction rather than the detection of graft stenosis or occlusion. Corrected CTA was not compared with invasive catheter angiography and there was no assessment of whether improved images changed diagnostic accuracy, reporting confidence, patient management or clinical outcomes. The evidence also comes from a single tertiary centre and a limited patient population. Only one scanner type and a single-vendor correction algorithm were assessed. Whether similar improvements would be seen with other systems, other acquisition techniques or in different clinical settings has not been established. Some of the abnormalities classified as breathing artefacts may also have been influenced by heart-rate variability, despite efforts to select patients with clearly defined respiratory motion. Performance in settings beyond postoperative CABG imaging, including emergency care, also remains to be evaluated. Motion correction can markedly improve CTA image quality when breathing artefacts affect patients imaged soon after CABG surgery. The technique reduced artefacts across both cardiovascular and other thoracic structures and restored diagnostic image quality in regions that were initially non-evaluable. The benefit is currently demonstrated as a technical improvement in a selected group of patients rather than as evidence of better diagnosis or clinical outcomes. Further evaluation is needed to determine whether these clearer images translate into more accurate graft assessment and meaningful changes in patient care. Source & Image Credit: The International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging Nikolova E, Demmert TT, Moser LJ et al. (2026) Improving image quality by reducing breathing artifacts in CT of patients early after coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Int J Cardiovasc Imaging. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10554-026-03816-4 Latest Articles Precision Medicine Journal Article 01/10/2026 Critical illness is rarely a single, uniform biological state. 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