Providing vessel wall related data

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for providing vessel wall related data, the method comprising: - receiving spectral computed tomography data of an examination region, wherein the examination region has a vessel; - computing a representation of a vessel wall of the vessel and at least one parametric map of the examination region based on the spectral computed tomography data; - computing the vessel wall related data based on the representation of the vessel wall and the at least one parametric map of the examination region; - providing the vessel wall related data.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a method for providing data related to blood vessel walls. The invention also relates to data processing systems and medical imaging systems. Background Technology

[0002] The elasticity of the blood vessel walls is a crucial foundation for the hemodynamics of the entire vascular system. This is particularly important for central blood vessels (air chamber function) (thoracic aorta, abdominal aorta, brachiocephalic trunk, carotid artery, iliac artery). It plays a less pronounced role in smaller blood vessels. In the case of cerebral blood vessels, the important factor is not air chamber function, but rather autoregulation, which also depends on the elasticity of the blood vessel walls.

[0003] Various diseases can affect the wall structure, thereby affecting its elasticity and the flow within the blood vessels. It is essential to differentiate between inflammatory processes (such as arteriosclerosis), metabolic disorders (such as hyperlipidemia), and, in rare cases, genetic changes such as impaired collagen synthesis (such as Marfan syndrome).

[0004] In very small blood vessels or special applications such as coronary arteries, changes in wall elasticity are rarely correlated with flow conditions. However, especially when intervening in larger blood vessels, treatment decisions must consider not only the degree of stenosis but also other parameters such as vessel wall condition and the degree of inflammation. This often leads to aneurysmal changes, where the exact vessel wall condition and its extent are relevant to treatment decisions.

[0005] In the case of non-invasive assessment of the vascular wall, an additional problem arises: physiological processes make the assessment more difficult. For example, (pseudo)wall thickening can be seen as a snapshot of the pulsatile wave. Furthermore, the aforementioned problems necessitate remote mapping of the vascular condition.

[0006] In experimental studies, elasticity can be derived from pressure conditions within the vascular system. In clinical settings, this is either impossible or achievable only within very limited limits.

[0007] In fluorescence examination, changes in the blood vessel wall can only be indirectly observed through changes in the blood vessel lumen after contrast agent administration. Obvious lesions and calcifications can be identified. However, it is difficult to make a correct assessment of the condition and elasticity of the blood vessel wall. Complex invasive FFR procedures can be used to determine the blood flow relevance of stenosis.

[0008] In intraluminal ultrasound, wall changes in smaller vessels can be analyzed in detail for short sections. Elasticity measurements are either impossible or only possible within limited scope. Due to the physical principles of ultrasound, calcification represents a significant limitation. Traditional ultrasound can measure flow rate but provides only limited information about elastic changes in the vessel wall. Calcification limits judgment, as does the anatomical localization of deep vessel sections.

[0009] Magnetic resonance imaging (MRT) can display information about inflammatory processes (late enhancement, water retention), flow conditions, and vessel wall elasticity. Furthermore, similar to computed tomography (CT),

[0010] It can visualize stenosis and quantify the blood vessel lumen. MRT can enable detailed flow analysis in larger blood vessels, allowing conclusions about blood vessel wall shear forces. However, this method cannot provide a detailed assessment of the blood vessel wall.

[0011] Another issue is that the examination time, implementation complexity, and robustness of results for each problem make widespread application difficult, limiting its use to specific settings and problems in individual treatment (e.g., Marfan syndrome). Certain anatomical sections and calcified areas are often excluded from analysis due to sensitivity to magnetic susceptibility artifacts. Furthermore, MRT has problems, or is even contraindicated, in some patients (e.g., those with pacemakers). While the information gathered through MRT can be used qualitatively for diagnosis, it cannot be readily used for quantification.

[0012] Nuclear medicine examinations (such as FDG PET) can detect processes, particularly inflammatory ones, with high sensitivity. The limitation here is the spatial and temporal resolution, which makes it difficult to make more precise judgments. Accurate morphological assessments are nearly impossible and must be obtained through mixed imaging with CT or MRI. While information gathered using MI can be used qualitatively for diagnosis, it cannot be readily used for quantification.

[0013] While calcifications are generally visualized in conventional computed tomography, their accurate assessment becomes more difficult due to generalization effects. These depend on the selected scanning parameters but can be partially corrected using comparison tables (see AGATSON scores). Because the density difference between blood and vessel walls is small, contrast agent administration is required. More precise analysis of vessel walls is often insufficient due to limited resolution. Subtraction angiography, such as with late enhancement, is virtually impossible to use for assessing vessel walls due to the aforementioned superposition of physiological effects. Summary of the Invention

[0014] The object of this invention is to provide an alternative to the conventional provision of data related to blood vessel walls. Each subject matter of the independent claims achieves this object. Other advantageous aspects of the invention are contemplated in the dependent claims.

[0015] This invention relates to a method for providing data related to the vessel wall, the method comprising:

[0016] - Receive spectral computed tomography data of the examination area, wherein the examination area has vasculature;

[0017] - Calculate at least one parametric map of the vessel wall representation and the examination area based on spectral computed tomography data;

[0018] - Calculate blood vessel wall-related data based on the representation of the blood vessel wall and at least one parametric map of the examination area;

[0019] - Provides data related to blood vessel walls.

[0020] Spectroscopic computed tomography data can be recorded, for example, based on photon counting computed tomography and / or dual-energy computed tomography, especially dual-source computed tomography.

[0021] At least one parametric map can specifically assign parameter values ​​to each of the multiple sub-regions of the inspection area. Sub-regions of the inspection area can be, for example, individual pixels, or composed of multiple contiguous pixels. The parameter values ​​assigned to a sub-region can, for example, be the average of the parameter values ​​assigned to the pixels in that sub-region. For example, a pixel can be a 2D pixel (pixel) or a 3D pixel (voxel, stereo element).

[0022] The data related to the vessel wall, the representation of the vessel wall, and at least one parametric map can each be constructed specifically in the form of two-dimensional or three-dimensional image data.

[0023] Vascular wall-related data may, for example, involve the distribution of edema and / or calcification and / or inflammation within the vascular wall. In particular, vascular wall-related data may involve the allocation of calcification and / or inflammation to vascular wall sections.

[0024] One implementation specifies that a blood vessel is a blood vessel. The representation of the blood vessel wall can be, for example, a blood vessel wall model, particularly a numerical blood vessel wall model. Specifically, the representation of the blood vessel wall can be used as a mask for at least one parametric map. The representation of the blood vessel wall and at least one parametric map of the examined region can be calculated, for example, based on material analysis and / or multi-compartment segmentation.

[0025] One implementation specifies that the blood vessel wall-related data are calculated based on the superposition of a representation of the blood vessel wall and at least one parameter map.

[0026] When the representation of the vessel wall is superimposed with at least one parametric map, motion artifact correction is not required because both the representation of the vessel wall and the at least one parametric map are based on the same spectral projection data. Therefore, the acquisition of information for representing the vessel wall and the acquisition of information for at least one parametric map occur simultaneously, specifically in the form of the same spectral projection dataset. Consequently, the representation of the vessel wall and the at least one parametric map involve the same effective acquisition time point.

[0027] One embodiment specifies that the representation of the vessel wall is based on a transformation in which a first sub-region of the transformed representation of the vessel wall is assigned to a first sub-region of the vessel wall, and a second sub-region of the transformed representation of the vessel wall is assigned to a second sub-region of the vessel wall, wherein, in particular, relative to the centerline of the vessel, the azimuth arrangement of the first sub-region of the transformed representation with respect to the second sub-region of the transformed representation is substantially the same as, in particular, equivalent to, the azimuth arrangement of the first sub-region of the vessel wall with respect to the second sub-region of the vessel wall.

[0028] Here, an appropriate transformation is made such that when the first sub-region of the vessel wall is located further downstream of the vessel's centerline Z than the second sub-region of the vessel wall, the transformed first sub-region is radially more outward than the transformed second sub-region; or when the first sub-region of the vessel wall is located further upstream of the vessel's centerline than the second sub-region of the vessel wall, the transformed first sub-region is radially more outward than the transformed second sub-region.

[0029] One implementation specifies that at least one parametric map of the examined area includes a fat map and / or a water map.

[0030] Specifically, the density map can involve X-ray density, such as normalized X-ray density, and / or, for example, assigning CT values ​​to each of a plurality of pixels on the Huntsfield scale. At least one parametric map, particularly in the form of a calcification map and / or a density map, can be calculated, for example, based on monoenergetic imaging. Thus, a calcification map with minimal generalization can be calculated.

[0031] One embodiment specifies that at least one parametric map of the examined area includes a calcification map and / or a density map and / or a contrast agent map, especially an iodine map.

[0032] Especially in cases involving late-contrast enhancement (post-enhanced) computed tomography, iodine maps can be used to identify areas of active inflammatory processes on the vessel walls.

[0033] One implementation specifies that the spectral computed tomography (PCT) data includes contrast agent-assisted PCT angiography data of blood vessels, wherein the visualization of the blood vessel wall is calculated based on the contrast agent-assisted PCT angiography data.

[0034] For example, virtual non-contrast image data related to blood vessels can be calculated based on contrast agent-assisted spectral computed tomography angiography data, wherein the representation of the blood vessel wall is calculated based on the virtual non-contrast image data.

[0035] For example, contrast agent information, particularly iodine information and / or intraluminal contrast agent information, contained in contrast agent-assisted spectral computed tomography (SCT) angiography data can be used to calculate the representation of the vessel wall and / or calculate vessel wall-related data. For instance, it can be specified to automatically segment vessel sections based on contrast agent-assisted SCT angiography data, and / or to calculate the representation of the inner boundary surface of the vessel wall based on contrast agent-assisted SCT angiography data. The representation of the vessel wall can be calculated, in particular, based on the automatic segmentation of vessel sections and / or based on the representation of the inner boundary surface of the vessel wall.

[0036] Furthermore, assessment of stenosis and / or plaque can be performed based on the segmentation of the vascular lumen, particularly quantitative assessment (based on HU values). Additionally, the expansion of the blood vessel along the central line in the region of stenosis can be calculated (straight-line view). Moreover, in anatomical cases, the true lumen can be determined in this way.

[0037] One implementation specifies that vascular wall-related data is calculated by comparing parameter values ​​with a threshold of at least one parameter map for each of a plurality of sub-regions of the vascular wall, wherein the at least one parameter map assigns the parameter values ​​to the sub-region, and the vascular wall-related data for each of the plurality of sub-regions of the vascular wall includes the results of the corresponding comparisons.

[0038] Based on comparisons with corresponding thresholds, the vessel wall can be segmented into specified layers or volumes for each parameter. Therefore, percentage judgments regarding the degree of calcification, edema size, and / or the presence of inflammatory processes can be automatically and / or (semi-)quantitatively determined. The parameterization of the vessel wall created in this way can be overlaid on the representation of the vessel wall in the image. Therefore, changes in the vessel wall upstream or downstream of stenosis and / or plaque can be more easily identified, allowing them to be better considered, for example, when planning stents.

[0039] In this way, for example, the vessel walls can be segmented similarly to the bullseye representation of the heart. This allows for the identification and evaluation of vessel walls in static two-dimensional processes, regardless of their location along the vessel's central axis.

[0040] One implementation specifies that a wall elasticity model related to the elasticity of the vessel wall is generated based on vessel wall-related data and / or adapted to vessel wall-related data.

[0041] It is not necessary to directly determine the elasticity of the blood vessel wall. Instead, clinically relevant data affecting blood vessel wall elasticity can be detected in the form of data related to the blood vessel wall. Clinically relevant data, such as the formation of edema on the blood vessel wall, thickening of the blood vessel wall, calcification of the blood vessel wall, and / or increased density and / or thickness of the blood vessel wall due to fibrotic processes (e.g., in the form of retroperitoneal fibrosis), can then be used to assess changes in elasticity, particularly relative and / or absolute changes in elasticity.

[0042] One implementation specifies that the blood flow model associated with blood flow through the blood vessels is generated based on data related to the blood vessel walls, and / or adapted to data related to the blood vessel walls.

[0043] For example, blood flow models can be partial flow reserve (FFR) models and / or numerical models. Blood flow modeling also opens up the possibility of estimating risk structures (e.g., in the case of implanted prostheses / vascular wall transitions or anastomoses) through imaging. In most vascular systems, pathological changes in the vascular wall play a significant role in regulating blood flow.

[0044] In particular, it can be specified that calcified vascular sections located in the blood vessels or prior to vascular suture are determined based on blood flow models and calcification maps, especially in a semi-automatic or automatic manner.

[0045] For example, based on blood flow models, vulnerable portions of the vascular wall in the suture and / or anastomosis area can be estimated; the success of dilation therapy, including the load-bearing capacity of the vascular wall, can be assessed; the course of collagen vascular disease and / or rheumatic or other inflammatory vascular diseases can be monitored; and / or the risk of scar-induced stenosis after intervention can be evaluated. Furthermore, early and / or late forms of inflammatory vascular wall diseases can be distinguished and / or quantified.

[0046] One advantage of the method described here is that it allows for the acquisition of different information about the displayed vessel wall in a single acquisition. This eliminates artifacts caused by collecting and correlating different information at different times.

[0047] The present invention also relates to a data processing system for providing data related to the vessel wall, having a data interface and a processor, wherein the data processing system is configured to perform the method according to the present invention.

[0048] The present invention also relates to a medical imaging system having a data processing system according to the invention and a computed tomography device for recording spectral computed tomography data.

[0049] Computed tomography (CT) devices can be configured, for example, to record spectral CT data for photon-count-based CT and / or dual-energy CT, particularly dual-source CT.

[0050] Methods for providing data related to the vessel wall can be, in particular, computer-implemented methods.

[0051] The present invention also relates to a computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to the present invention.

[0052] A computer program product may be, for example, a computer program, or may include at least one additional component in addition to a computer program. At least one additional component of a computer program product may be designed as hardware and / or software.

[0053] A computer program product may, for example, have: a storage medium on which at least a portion of the computer program product is stored; and / or a key, particularly in the form of a dongle, for verifying the user of the computer program product. The computer program product and / or the computer program may, for example, have a cloud application designed to distribute instructions to different processing units of a cloud computing system, particularly different computers, wherein each processing unit is designed to execute one or more instructions.

[0054] The present invention also relates to a computer-readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to the present invention.

[0055] A computer-readable storage medium may store, for example, a computer program product according to one of the embodiments disclosed in this application and / or a computer program according to one of the embodiments disclosed in this application. The computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, a memory stick, a hard disk, or other data carrier particularly removably connectable to or permanently integrated into a computer. The computer-readable storage medium may, for example, form a region of a storage system in which a data processing system is connected via a data interface.

[0056] A data processing system may have one or more hardware components and / or one or more software components. For example, a data processing system may be at least partially formed by a cloud computing system. A data processing system may be, for example, and / or include cloud computing systems, computer networks, computers, tablets, smartphones, etc., or combinations thereof.

[0057] Hardware can, for example, interact with software and / or be configured via software. Software can, for example, be executed using hardware. Hardware can, for example, be a memory system, an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) system, an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) system, a microcontroller system, a processor system, or a combination thereof. A processor system can, for example, have one microprocessor and / or multiple microprocessors working together.

[0058] The steps of this method can be performed, for example, in the form of computation within a processor of a data processing system. Computations, such as computations of representations of the vessel wall and / or computations of at least one parametric map and / or computations of vessel wall-related data, can be performed, in particular, using algorithms, such as machine learning algorithms trained on the data on which the computation is based.

[0059] Data transfer between components of a medical imaging system can, for example, be performed separately through suitable data transfer interfaces. The data transfer interface for transferring data to and / or from components of the medical imaging system can be implemented at least partially in software and / or at least partially in hardware. The data transfer interface can, for example, be designed to store and / or retrieve data from an area of ​​a storage system, wherein one or more components of the medical imaging system have access to that area of ​​the storage system.

[0060] For example, data, particularly spectral computed tomography (CT) data, can be received by receiving a data-carrying signal and / or by reading data, particularly from a computer-readable storage medium. Data, particularly vascular wall-related data, wall elasticity models, and / or blood flow models, can be provided, for example, by transmitting a data-carrying signal and / or by writing the data into a computer-readable storage medium and / or by displaying the data on a screen.

[0061] Within the scope of this invention, features described with respect to different embodiments of the invention and / or different claim categories (methods, uses, apparatuses, systems, arrangements, etc.) can be combined to form other embodiments of the invention. For example, claims related to apparatus can also be modified using features described or claimed in conjunction with methods, and vice versa. Functional features of a method can be implemented by correspondingly designed physical components. The use of the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not preclude the possibility that multiple features may exist in discussion. In the context of this application, the expression "based on" can be understood in particular in the sense of "using". In particular, the phrase "based on a second feature to calculate (or: determine, generate, etc.) a first feature" does not preclude the first feature from also being calculated (or: determined, generated, etc.) based on a third feature, etc. Attached Figure Description

[0062] The invention will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. The views in the drawings are schematic, greatly simplified, and not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0063] Figure 1 The diagram shows the segmentation of the blood vessel cross-section at multiple locations along the vessel.

[0064] Figure 2 The results of material analysis for cross-sections of the blood vessel at multiple locations are shown.

[0065] Figure 3 An example is shown for representing data related to the blood vessel wall;

[0066] Figure 4 This shows a representation of blood vessel wall-related data at multiple consecutive time points for the same blood vessel;

[0067] Figure 5 A flowchart is shown for a method for providing data related to the vessel wall;

[0068] Figure 6 A medical imaging system is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0069] Figure 1 This diagram illustrates the segmentation of a blood vessel cross-section at multiple locations B1, B2, B3 within an examination region A, based on spectral computed tomography data. Blood vessel B is, for example, a blood vessel. The vessel wall W surrounds the lumen L and the calcified portion C. Outside blood vessel B, a peripheral region P adjacent to the vessel wall W is enriched with contrast agent, for example, due to an inflammatory process.

[0070] Figure 2 The results of material analysis of cross-sections of the blood vessel B at multiple locations are shown based on spectral computed tomography data. Each cell showing the blood vessel wall W is a two-dimensional view representing the blood vessel wall W. Each cell showing the calcification C is a two-dimensional view of the calcification map of the examination area A. The cells showing the peripheral area P form the iodine map of the examination area A.

[0071] Figure 3 This is an example used to display data related to the vessel wall. The cross-section of vessel B is shown below. Figure 3 As shown on the left. The vessel wall W is arranged around the center line Z of vessel B. The vessel wall W has multiple local regions.

[0072] Vascular wall-related data is calculated by comparing parameter values ​​with a threshold of at least one parameter map for each of multiple sub-regions of the vascular wall W, wherein the parameter value is assigned to that sub-region by the at least one parameter map. The vascular wall-related data for each sub-region of the multiple sub-regions of the vascular wall W includes the results of the corresponding comparisons. Within a sub-region R of the multiple sub-regions, if the parameter value is greater than the threshold, at least one parameter map assigns that parameter value to that sub-region.

[0073] The transformation of the vessel wall W represents WZ in Figure 3As shown in the right-hand portion. The representation WZ of the vessel wall W is based on a transformation in which a first region of the transformed representation WZ of the vessel wall W is assigned to a first sub-region of the vessel wall W, and a second region of the transformed representation WZ of the vessel wall W is assigned to a second sub-region of the vessel wall W, wherein the azimuth arrangement of the first region of the transformed representation WZ relative to the second region of the transformed representation WZ is equivalent to the azimuth arrangement of the first sub-region of the vessel wall W relative to the second sub-region of the vessel wall W.

[0074] Perform an appropriate transformation on all subregions of multiple subregions such that when the first subregion of the vessel wall W is located further downstream of the centerline Z of the vessel B than the second subregion of the vessel wall W, the first region of the transformed representation WZ is radially more outward than the second region of the transformed representation WZ.

[0075] Each sub-region of the vessel wall W, located further downstream from the centerline Z of the vessel B, is thus assigned a corresponding sub-region of a transformed representation WZ, located more radially outward. This transformation is also applied to at least one parameter map. Vessel wall-related data can be presented as a superposition of the transformed representation WZ of the vessel wall W and at least one transformed parameter map BZ. In a sub-region RZ of the multiple sub-regions of the transformed representation WZ, at least one transformed parameter map assigns a parameter value greater than a threshold to that sub-region. Therefore, the variation of parameter values ​​along the centerline Z of the vessel B from one sub-region of the vessel wall W to another sub-region of the vessel wall W can be displayed in a static two-dimensional view.

[0076] Figure 4 The diagram illustrates representations of vessel wall correlation data for the same vessel B at several consecutive time points T1, T2, and T3. This data is calculated based on a representation of the vessel wall W and the superposition of at least one parametric map. This demonstrates how the number of sub-regions R with parameter values ​​greater than a threshold assigned by at least one parametric map changes over time.

[0077] Figure 5 A flowchart of a method for providing data related to the vessel wall is shown, the method comprising:

[0078] - Receive spectral computed tomography data of examination region A, wherein examination region A has a vascular bundle B;

[0079] - Calculate the representation of the vessel wall W of vessel B in S2 and at least one parametric map of the examination area A based on spectral computed tomography data;

[0080] - Calculate S3 data related to the blood vessel wall based on the representation of the blood vessel wall W and at least one parametric map of the examination area A;

[0081] - Provides data related to the S4 blood vessel wall.

[0082] Figure 6 A medical imaging system 1 is shown, comprising a data processing system 3 and a computed tomography (CT) device 2 for recording spectral computed tomography data. The data processing system 3, for providing data related to the blood vessel walls, has a data interface 3A and a processor 3B, and is configured to execute… Figure 5 The method shown.

Claims

1. A method for providing data related to the vessel wall, the method comprising: Receive spectral computed tomography data of an examination region (A), wherein the examination region (A) has a vascular vessel (B). The representation of the vessel wall (W) of the vessel (B) and at least one parametric map of the examination area (A) are calculated based on the spectral computed tomography data. The relevant data of the blood vessel wall are calculated based on the representation of the blood vessel wall (W) and at least one parametric map of the examination area (A); Provide the relevant data of the blood vessel wall; The representation of the vessel wall (W) is based on a transformation in which a first sub-region of the transformed representation (WZ) of the vessel wall (W) is assigned to a first sub-region of the vessel wall (W), and a second sub-region of the transformed representation (WZ) of the vessel wall (W) is assigned to a second sub-region of the vessel wall (W). The azimuth arrangement of the first sub-region of the transformed representation (WZ) relative to the second sub-region of the transformed representation (WZ) is substantially the same as the azimuth arrangement of the first sub-region of the vessel wall (W) relative to the second sub-region of the vessel wall (W). The transformation is performed such that when the first sub-region of the vessel wall (W) is located further downstream of a centerline (Z) of the vessel (B) than the second sub-region of the vessel wall (W), the first sub-region of the transformed representation (WZ) is radially more outward than the second sub-region of the transformed representation (WZ); or the transformation is performed such that when the first sub-region of the vessel wall (W) is located further upstream of a centerline (Z) of the vessel (B) than the second sub-region of the vessel wall (W), the first sub-region of the transformed representation (WZ) is radially more outward than the second sub-region of the transformed representation (WZ).

2. The method according to claim 1, in, The vessel (B) is a blood vessel.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, in, The vessel wall related data are calculated based on the representation of the vessel wall (W) and the superposition of the at least one parameter map.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, in, At least one parametric map of the examination area (A) includes a fat map and / or a water map.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, in, The at least one parametric map of the examination area (A) includes a calcification map and / or a density map and / or an iodine map.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, in, The spectral computed tomography data includes contrast-assisted spectral computed tomography angiography data of the blood vessel (B). The representation of the vessel wall (W) is calculated based on contrast agent-assisted spectral computed tomography angiography data.

7. The method according to claim 1 or 2, in, The vessel wall-related data is calculated by comparing a parameter value to a threshold of the at least one parameter map for each of the multiple sub-regions of the vessel wall (W), wherein the at least one parameter map assigns the parameter value to the sub-region. The blood vessel wall-related data for each of the multiple sub-regions of the blood vessel wall (W) includes the results of the corresponding comparisons.

8. The method according to claim 1 or 2, in, A wall elasticity model relating to the elasticity of the vessel wall (W) of the vessel (B) is generated and / or adapted to the vessel wall-related data.

9. The method according to claim 1 or 2, in, A blood flow model associated with the blood flow through the vessel (B) is generated and / or adapted to the vessel wall-related data based on the vessel wall-related data.

10. The method according to claim 9, in, Based on the blood flow model and calcification map, an automatically determined calcified vascular section located in the vascular anatomy of the vessel (B) or prior to vascular suturing of the vessel (B) is identified.

11. A data processing system (3) for providing data related to the vessel wall, having a data interface (3A) and a processor (3B), wherein, The data processing system (3) is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. A medical imaging system (1) having a data processing system (3) according to claim 11 and a computed tomography device (2) for recording spectral computed tomography data.

13. A computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

14. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

Images