Co-registered Intravascular Pullback Curves for Vessel Geometry Accuracy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for assessing coronary artery disease severity, either invasive or image-based, face limitations due to foreshortening in diagnostic images and inaccuracies in simulating blood flow, leading to incompatible information between modalities and incomplete representation of blood flow dynamics.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method that combine simulated pullback data from a physiological model with intravascular pullback data using co-registration to identify disparities, allowing for the adaptation of the physiological model to individual hemodynamic properties and providing additional information about vessel geometry and blood flow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a single 2D diagnostic image is used to generate the physiological model, then the model generation is simplified and faster, but foreshortening effects occur leading to incorrect vessel geometry representation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from 2D diagnostic images to 3D reconstructed vessel models by introducing a third dimension. Multiple 2D angiographic images taken at different angles are processed to create a three-dimensional representation of the coronary vessel, eliminating foreshortening effects and providing accurate geometric information for physiological modeling.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an image processing and reconstruction system as an intermediary between the raw diagnostic images and the physiological model. This intermediary processes multiple 2D images, corrects foreshortening through 3D reconstruction, and generates accurate vessel geometry data that serves as the foundation for the physiological model.
2Measurement precision
If invasive pullback measurements are performed to obtain accurate intravascular data, then blood flow dynamics are accurately captured, but the procedure is more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines non-invasive 3D imaging data with simplified physiological measurements to create a comprehensive model. By merging anatomical information from 3D reconstruction with hemodynamic data from basic pressure measurements, the system achieves accurate blood flow dynamics assessment without requiring complex invasive pullback procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The physiological model serves multiple functions: it represents vessel geometry, simulates blood flow dynamics, and provides diagnostic information. This multi-functional model reduces the need for separate specialized measurements, simplifying the overall assessment procedure while maintaining accuracy.
3Device complexity
If the fluid dynamics model uses idealized boundary conditions, then the simulation is computationally simpler, but atypical blood flow patterns and local turbulences are not properly represented
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different levels of complexity to different parts of the simulation. Standard boundary conditions are used in most vessel segments for computational efficiency, while localized regions with detected abnormalities (stenoses, bifurcations, aneurysms) receive enhanced modeling with patient-specific parameters to accurately capture local flow patterns and turbulences.
Solution Approach 2:
The physiological model dynamically adjusts simulation complexity based on detected vessel characteristics. Normal vessel segments use simplified models, while regions with pathological features trigger more complex local simulations, allowing the system to maintain reliability in critical areas while preserving overall computational efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for analyzing coronary vessels and a corresponding method are provided in which simulated pullback data obtained from (non-invasively) acquired diagnostic images is co-registered with invasively acquired intravascular pullback data and the co-registration is used to identify disparities in the pullback data obtained using the two modalities. These disparities allow for deriving further information about the vessel geometry and/or the blood flow through the vessel. They may therefore be used to improve the physiological model.