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Method and apparatus for three-dimensional reconstruction of coronary vessels from angiographic images

  • US 6,047,080 A
  • Filed: 06/19/1996
  • Issued: 04/04/2000
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/19/1996
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A method for three-dimensional reconstruction of a target object from two-dimensional images, said target object having a plurality of branch-like vessels, the method comprising the steps of:

  • a) placing the target object in a position to be scanned by an imaging system, said imaging system having a plurality of imaging portions;

    b) acquiring a plurality of projection images of the target object, each imaging portion providing a projection image of the target object, each imaging portion disposed at an unknown orientation relative to the other imaging portions;

    c) identifying two-dimensional vessel centerlines for a predetermined number of the vessels in each of the projection images;

    d) creating a vessel hierarchy data structure for each projection image, said data structure including the identified two-dimensional vessel centerlines defined by a plurality of data points in the vessel hierarchy data structure;

    e) calculating a predetermined number of bifurcation points for each projection image by traversing the corresponding vessel hierarchy data structure, said bifurcation points defined by intersections of the two-dimensional vessel centerlines;

    f) determining a transformation in the form of a rotation matrix and a translation vector utilizing non-linear constrained minimization techniques and the bifurcation points corresponding to each of the projections images, said non-linear constrained minimization techniques minimizing the square of the distance between the bifurcation points and projections of calculated three-dimensional points, said rotation matrix and said translation vector representing imaging parameters corresponding to the orientation of each imaging portion relative to the other imaging portions of the imaging system;

    g) utilizing the data points and the transformation to establish a correspondence between the two-dimensional vessel centerlines corresponding to each of the projection images such that each data point corresponding to one projection image is linked to a data point corresponding to the other projection images, said linked data points representing an identical location in the vessel of the target object;

    h) calculating three-dimensional vessel centerlines utilizing the two-dimensional vessel centerlines and the correspondence between the data points of the two-dimensional vessel centerlines; and

    i) reconstructing a three-dimensional visual representation of the target object based on the three-dimensional vessel centerlines and diameters of each vessel estimated along the three-dimensional centerline of each vessel.

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