Photon-counting CT for Intracranial Stent Assessment

August 12, 2026 updated by: Xin Lou

Evaluation of Ultra-high Resolution Photon-counting CT Angiography for Intracranial Stent Assessment: A Prospective Diagnostic Study With Digital Subtraction Angiography as Reference Standard

Intracranial atherosclerotic disease is an important cause of ischemic stroke, and intracranial stent implantation is increasingly used for patients with severe stenotic lesions. Evaluation of stent patency and detection of in-stent restenosis are essential during follow-up. Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) remains the reference standard for intracranial stent assessment; however, it is an invasive procedure associated with potential complications and radiation exposure. Conventional CT angiography may be limited by stent-related artifacts, including blooming artifact and beam-hardening effects, which can impair accurate evaluation of the stent lumen.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Detailed Description

Intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis is one of the major causes of ischemic stroke worldwide. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting (PTAS) has been widely applied for selected patients with severe intracranial arterial stenosis. Long-term surveillance after stent implantation is important because in-stent restenosis, incomplete stent expansion, incomplete stent apposition, and other stent-related abnormalities may affect clinical outcomes.

Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) is currently considered the reference standard for evaluating intracranial stent patency. However, DSA is an invasive examination requiring arterial catheterization and carries risks including vascular complications and radiation exposure. Therefore, a reliable noninvasive imaging method for intracranial stent follow-up is clinically desirable. Conventional energy-integrating detector CT angiography (EID-CTA) may be limited in intracranial stent evaluation because of metal-related artifacts, particularly blooming artifact and beam-hardening effects.

Photon-counting detector CT (PCD-CT) represents a new generation of CT technology with improved spatial resolution, reduced electronic noise, and enhanced material separation capabilities. Ultra-high-resolution PCD-CT angiography may overcome limitations of conventional CTA and improve visualization of intracranial stent structures.

This prospective observational diagnostic study will include patients with intracranial arterial stents who undergo follow-up UHR PCD-CTA examinations. For patients who undergo DSA within a predefined interval, the findings of UHR PCD-CTA will be compared with DSA.

The results of this study may help determine the clinical value of UHR PCD-CTA as a noninvasive alternative or complementary imaging method for intracranial stent surveillance.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

200

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • China
    • Beijing Municipality
      • Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China, 100853
        • Recruiting
        • Chinese PLA General Hospital
        • Contact:
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

N/A

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients with intracranial arterial stents

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Age ≥18 years;
  2. Patients with previously implanted intracranial arterial stents;
  3. Undergoing follow-up CTA examination;
  4. Available imaging data for analysis.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Severe motion artifacts;
  2. Poor contrast enhancement;
  3. Incomplete clinical or imaging data.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Patients with intracranial arterial stents
Patients with previously implanted intracranial arterial stents who underwent follow-up ultra-high-resolution photon-counting CT angiography (UHR PCD-CTA) for evaluation of Stent patency and stent-related abnormalities.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Sensitivity of UHR PCD-CTA for detecting significant in-stent stenosis
Time Frame: 1-4years
Sensitivity of ultra-high-resolution photon-counting detector CT angiography (UHR PCD-CTA) for detecting significant in-stent stenosis (≥50%), using digital subtraction angiography (DSA) as the reference standard.
1-4years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Diagnostic accuracy of UHR PCD-CTA for detecting significant in-stent stenosis
Time Frame: 1-4years
Diagnostic accuracy of UHR PCD-CTA for detecting significant in-stent stenosis (≥50%), using DSA as the reference standard.
1-4years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Xin Lou

Investigators

  • Study Chair: Xin Lou, MD.PhD, Chinese PLA General Hospital

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 7, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

January 7, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

January 7, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 8, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 12, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

August 18, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 18, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 12, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PCD-CT Artery Stent

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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