Stent Visualization System Using Pre-Contrast Wire Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current stent visualization techniques, such as StentBoost subtract, fail to accurately detect and track the wire shape of stents during deployment, especially under contrast agent, which is crucial for proper stent expansion and apposition, leading to potential re-stenosis or thrombosis risks.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize image acquisition and processing to track and register features in X-ray images before and after contrast agent injection, employing elastic restoration fields and warping transforms to generate a combined inter-criterion image that includes wire information, even when the wire is not detectable post-contrast injection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If stent boost subtract technique is used to improve stent visibility, then stent visualization is improved, but wire detection and tracking becomes impossible under contrast agent
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary wire shape detection and tracking during the pre-contrast phase when the wire is visible. The detected wire shape information is stored and later used to guide stent deployment, compensating for the fact that the wire becomes invisible after contrast agent injection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses markers as intermediary objects that remain visible both before and after contrast agent injection. These markers are detected in both phases and used to establish correspondence between pre-contrast and post-contrast images, enabling wire shape information to be transferred to the post-contrast phase where the wire itself is no longer visible.
2Illumination intensity
If traditional stent boost subtract is used, then stent visibility is enhanced, but accurate wire state information is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system captures and processes wire shape information in advance during the pre-contrast phase when the wire is still visible. This preliminary capture of wire state information is stored and later integrated with post-contrast images, preventing information loss despite the wire becoming invisible after contrast injection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges pre-contrast images (containing wire information) with post-contrast images (containing enhanced stent visibility) by detecting corresponding markers in both phases. This combination creates a composite image that retains wire state information from the pre-contrast phase while benefiting from the enhanced visibility of the post-contrast phase.
3Measurement precision
If multiple images are integrated for motion compensation, then image quality improves, but processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses automatically detected markers to perform self-alignment and registration of multiple images. The markers provide natural reference points that enable the system to automatically compute transformation parameters without requiring complex manual intervention or sophisticated algorithms, thus reducing processing complexity while maintaining high image quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces complex mechanical alignment procedures with computational image registration based on marker detection. Instead of physically aligning images through mechanical means, the system uses digital image processing and transformation algorithms to align images based on detected marker positions, significantly reducing processing complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a system and a method for producing an image of a physical object and to a computer program element and a computer readable medium. In order to provide improved stent boost subtract also showing wire state information, a system and a method are provided, the method comprising the following steps: a) tracking a predetermined first feature (126) and a predetermined second feature (128) in a first plurality (114) of first images (116), which images reveal a first criterion (118); and determining a first feature transform; and determining second feature distortion vector fields relative to the first feature transform; b) associating and recording second feature distortion vector fields corresponding to at least two phase attributes (120); c) tracking the predetermined first feature (126) in at least one secondary image (142) which image reveals a second criterion; d) determining a first-feature-based inter-criterion transform; e) restoring current physical distortion by composing the first-feature-based inter-phase transform and the second feature distortion vector fields corresponding to a matching phase attribute (120); and f) generating a combined inter-criterion image (162) based on the restored physical distortion.