[Comparison of the depiction of pancreaticoduodenal arcades and dorsal pancreatic artery, using three-point scale with volume rendering (VR), maximum intensity projection (MIP), and shaded surface display (SSD)].

Preoperative visualization of pancreaticoduodenal arcades and the dorsal pancreatic artery, which supply the pancreatic head and body, is crucial to surgeons, who must guard against ligation or injury during pancreatic surgery. The peripancreatic arteries now can be noninvasively displayed using three-dimensional CT angiographic techniques (3D CTA) so that peripancreaticoarterial anatomy can be defined before pancreatic surgery, obviating the need for conventional catheter angiography. We compared the depiction of the pancreaticoduodenal arcades and dorsal pancreatic artery, using volume rendering (VR), maximum intensity projection (MIP), and shaded surface display (SSD) as post-processing techniques. The results of visual grading (using a 3-point scale) indicated that VR was superior to MIP and SSD in the depiction of pancreaticoduodenal arcades and the dorsal pancreatic artery. Unlike the other rendering techniques, VR can also depict relationships between these vessels and the pancreatic parenchyma and adjacent structures.