Volumetric Image Processing for Coronary Stenosis Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current imaging techniques for coronary artery stenosis, such as catheter coronary angiography and CT angiography, face challenges in accurately assessing stenosis due to the presence of calcification features and other metallic artefacts, which can obscure blood vessels and make it difficult to visualize coronary artery stenosis effectively.
Innovation Solution
An image processing system and method that processes volumetric image data by registering and subtracting calcium scoring and CT angiography datasets to remove or reduce the intensity of calcification features, allowing for the simulation of a catheter coronary angiogram view that enhances the visibility of blood vessels and reduces artifacts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If CT angiography is used to visualize blood vessels, then non-invasive imaging is achieved, but calcification features obscure the blood vessels and make stenosis assessment difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the volumetric image data into different tissue types using multi-phase contrast enhancement. By acquiring images at different time points (pre-contrast, arterial phase, venous phase) and segmenting based on contrast uptake patterns, the system separates calcification features from blood vessels, allowing independent analysis of each structure to resolve the obscuration problem
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts calcification features from the combined image data through segmentation and masking techniques. By identifying and extracting the calcification components based on their distinct radiodensity and contrast enhancement characteristics, the system removes these obscuring elements to reveal the underlying blood vessel structures for accurate stenosis assessment
2Measurement precision
If catheter coronary angiography is used to assess stenosis, then accurate visualization is achieved, but the procedure is invasive and exposes patients to high radiation doses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the catheter angiography experience by processing CT angiography data through multi-phase contrast enhancement and advanced rendering techniques. The system generates simulated angiographic views from the non-invasive CT data, reproducing the diagnostic quality of catheter angiography without requiring actual catheter insertion or high-dose fluoroscopy
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical catheter-based imaging system with a computational imaging approach. Instead of physically inserting catheters and using fluoroscopy, the system uses non-invasive CT scanning combined with sophisticated image processing algorithms to achieve equivalent diagnostic information, substituting mechanical intervention with computational methods
3Ease of operation
If 2D CTA slice data is used for assessment, then the imaging process is simple, but cardiologists struggle to assess stenosis effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the 2D slice data into 3D volumetric representations through multi-phase contrast enhancement and volume rendering. By adding the temporal dimension (multiple time points) and processing the data in three dimensions, the system provides cardiologists with intuitive 3D visualizations of blood vessels and stenoses, maintaining operational simplicity while dramatically improving assessment capability
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus for performing an imaging procedure comprising processing volumetric image data comprising an image processing unit configured to obtain first image data representative of a region including at least one vessel and at least one associated feature, and second image data representative of at least part of the region, an image refinement unit configured to process the first image data and the second image data to produce a combined image representative of the at least one vessel, wherein the associated feature is removed or reduced in intensity in the combined image, and a rendering unit configured to render the combined image as a simulated view that simulates a view obtainable from an alternative imaging procedure.