MOTION-COMPENSATED CORONARY FLOW FROM PROJECTION IMAGING

• US 20090116715A1
• Filed: 05/14/2007
• Published: 05/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Bredno, Joerg, Weese, Juergen, Groth, Alexandra
• Granted Patent: US 8,295,573 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/130
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/481 involving the use of contrast agents
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/503 for diagnosis of the heart
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/504 for diagnosis of blood vessels, e.g. by angiography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/507 for determination of haemodynamic parameters, e.g. perfusion CT
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/527 using data from a motion artifact sensor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/5276 due to motion

Abstract

Diagnostic angiograms only provide the projected lumen of a coronary, which is only an indirect measure of blood flow and pressure decline. According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a motion compensated determination of a flow dynamics and a pressure decline for stenosis grading is provided, in which the motion compensation is performed on the basis of a tracking of a first position of a first marker and a second position of a second marker in the projection data set. This may provide for a robust and precise flow dynamics and pressure decline determination.

Claims

1. Examination apparatus (100) for motion compensated determination of a flow dynamics from an image sequence of an object of interest (15, 107), the examination apparatus (100) comprising:

an analysis unit (118) adapted for performing a determination of a first flow dynamics in a region of the object of interest (15, 107);

wherein the determination comprises a motion compensation performed on the basis of a tracking of a first position of a first marker in the image sequence;

wherein a motion of the markers corresponds a motion of the object of interest.

2. The examination apparatus (100) of claim 1,

further comprising an acquisition unit (108) adapted for acquiring the image sequence in one of a dedicated flow run and a standard acquisition run.

3. The examination apparatus (100) of claim 2,

wherein the image sequence is acquired according to the following scheme:

acquisition of first data during a cardiac cycle;

application of a small and diluted amount of contrast agent; and

subsequent acquisition of second data corresponding to an inflow and outflow of the contrast agent during a multitude of cardiac cycles.

4. The examination apparatus (100) of claim 1,

wherein the image sequence is an angiogram data set.

5. The examination apparatus (100) of claim 1,

wherein the motion compensation comprises the use of heartbeat data, respiration data, voluntary and involuntary patient motion data.

6. The examination apparatus (100) of claim 1,

wherein the analysis unit (118) is further adapted for:

determining a time intensity curve of a contrast agent concentration on the basis of at least the first position of the first marker and a second position of a second marker; and

performing a model-based flow analysis adapted to determine at least one of a total volume flow and a pressure decline, even in the presence of strong pulsation effects.

7. The examination apparatus (100) of claim 6,

wherein the model-based flow analysis includes varying flow speeds over the cardiac cycle and compensates for such pulsatility when electrocardiogram data is available as input.

8. The examination apparatus (100) of claim 1,

wherein the object of interest (15, 107) is a coronary artery;

and

wherein the region of the object of interest (15, 107) is a first vessel segment of the coronary artery.

9. The examination apparatus (100) of claim 1,

wherein the first and second markers are adapted as distance markers of one of a guide wire, a semi-transparent guide wire, a stenting device, and a ballooning device.

10. The examination apparatus (100) of claim 1,

wherein the analysis unit (118) is further adapted for:

compensating a variability of the first volume flow over the cardiac cycle by one of a defined time of contrast agent injection or by an inclusion and compensation of the variability in a subsequent analysis.

11. The examination apparatus (100) of claim 10,

wherein the subsequent analysis is a videodensitometric analysis.

12. The examination apparatus (100) of claim 1,

wherein the analysis unit (118) is further adapted for:

determining a second volume flow in a second vessel segment of the coronary artery; and

determining a pressure decline in the first vessel segment on the basis of the second volume flow.

13. The examination apparatus (100) of claim 1,

wherein the examination apparatus (100) is adapted as one of a Cathlab imager in fixed imaging geometry, a 3D computed tomography apparatus, and a 3D rotational X-ray apparatus.

14. The examination apparatus (100) of claim 1, configured as one of the group consisting of a material testing apparatus and a medical application apparatus.

15. A method of motion compensated determination of a flow dynamics from an image sequence of an object of interest (15, 107) with an examination apparatus, method comprising the step of:

determining of a first flow dynamics in a region of the object of interest (15, 107);

wherein the determination comprises a motion compensation performed on the basis of a tracking of a first position of a first marker in the image sequence;

wherein a motion of the markers corresponds to a motion of the object of interest.

16. An image processing device for motion compensated determination of a flow dynamics from an image sequence of an object of interest (15, 107), the image processing device comprising:

a memory for storing an image sequence of the object of interest (15, 107);

an analysis unit (118) adapted for;

determining of a first flow dynamics in a region of the object of interest (15, 107);

wherein the determination comprises a motion compensation performed on the basis of a tracking of a first position of a first marker in the image sequence;

wherein a motion of the markers corresponds to a motion of the object of interest.

17. A computer-readable medium (402), in which a computer program of motion compensated determination of a flow dynamics from an image sequence of an object of interest (15, 107) is stored which, when being executed by a processor (401), is adapted to carry out the step of:

determining of a first flow dynamics in a region of the object of interest (15, 107);

wherein the determination comprises a motion compensation performed on the basis of a tracking of a first position of a first marker in the image sequence;

wherein a motion of the markers corresponds to a motion of the object of interest.

18. A program element of motion compensated determination of a flow dynamics from an image sequence of an object of interest (15, 107), which, when being executed by a processor (401), is adapted to carry out the step of:

determining of a first flow dynamics in a region of the object of interest (15, 107);

wherein the determination comprises a motion compensation performed on the basis of a tracking of a first position of a first marker in the image sequence;

wherein a motion of the markers corresponds to a motion of the object of interest.