Rotational angiography based hybrid 3D reconstruction of coronary arterial structure

Abstract

A method and apparatus of generating a hybrid three dimensional reconstruction of a vascular structure affected by periodic motion is disclosed. At least two x-ray images of the vascular structure are acquired. Indicia of the phases of periodic motion are obtained and correlated. Images from a similar phase of periodic motion are selected and a three dimensional modeled segment of a region of interest in the vascular structure is generated. A three dimensional volumetric reconstruction of a vascular structure is generated that is larger than the modeled segment. The modeled segment of interest and the volumetric reconstruction of the larger vascular structure are combined and displayed in human readable form.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to X-ray coronary angiography, and in particular to an apparatus for generating hybrid reconstructions and simulated representations of views acquired using rotational angiography. The present invention finds particular application in cardiac catheterization, diagnosis and intervention in connection with diagnostic medical imaging and will be described in detail. Background technique [0002] Coronary artery disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. The number of catheterizations performed has increased significantly in an effort to reduce mortality. The number of catheter insertions is expected to grow in the future owing to recent advances in vascular stenting technologies (eg, eluting stents) and imaging capabilities. [0003] Coronary catheterization is usually performed using X-ray angiography. Due to the constriction and overlap of vessels, it is often difficult to select the corr...

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Problems solved by technology

[0012] Also, even with improved reconstructed images requiring longer scan times, there is still room for improvement in the resolution of the arterial tree in determining quantitative coronary analysis for stenosis size or identifying regions of interest in clinician treatment

Furthermore, additional time-consuming clinical user interaction is necessary in order to extract the correct size of the lesion from the volumetric reconstruction

[0013] However, these techniques exacerbate the essential problem of increasing patient exposure to contrast media and X-ray radiation due to the extended rotational scan times required by the methods of these published patents

As a result, some patients with pre-existing kidney problems cannot tolerate additional doses of contrast material to obtain improved reconstructed views of the coronary tree

In the care of these patients, this reduces the quality of information available to clinicians

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