Device and computed tomography scanner for determining and visualizing the perfusion of the myocardial muscle

• US 9,002,091 B2
• Filed: 06/18/2014
• Issued: 04/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Healthineers AG (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Bernhardt, Dominik, Scheuering, Michael, Vega-Higuera, Fernando
• Primary Examiner(s): GORADIA, SHEFALI DINESH
• Application Number:
  US14/307,544
• Publication Number:
  US 20140294137A1
• Time in Patent Office: 293 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382128-132, 382/173, 378/4, 703/11
• US Class Current: 382/131
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/03 Computed tomography [CT] echo-tomography A61B8/14
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/032 Transmission computed tomography [CT]
• 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: G06F 17/18 for evaluating statistical data , e.g. average values, frequency distributions, probability functions, regression analysis forecasting specially adapted for a specific administrative, business or logistic context G06Q10/04
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10076 4D tomography; Time-sequential 3D tomography
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10081 Computed x-ray tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30048 Heart; Cardiac
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30104 Vascular flow; Blood flow; Perfusion
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G16B 5/00 ICT specially adapted for modelling or simulations in systems biology, e.g. gene-regulatory networks, protein interaction networks or metabolic networks
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/50 for simulation or modelling of medical disorders

Abstract

A device is disclosed for determining and visualizing the perfusion of the myocardial muscle with the aid of static CCTA images. In at least one embodiment, the device includes a segmentation unit for segmenting the coronary blood vessels and the left myocardial muscle from a CCTA image of the heart; a first simulation unit for simulating the blood flow through the coronary blood vessels; and a second simulation unit by which the local perfusion of the myocardial muscle is determined on the basis of the ascertained blood flow into different regions of the myocardial muscle. The perfusion of the different regions of the myocardial muscle is visualized in a schematized image on a visualization unit. By virtue of the proposed device it is possible to dispense with further imaging examinations after the performance of a CCTA scan, thereby relieving the pressure both on the part of the physician and on the part of the patient.

Claims

1. A method for simulating perfusion of the myocardial muscle with the aid of non-dynamic computed tomographic angiography, comprising:

simulating a blood flow through coronary blood vessels of a heart on the basis of segmented coronary blood vessels from imaging data of the heart and determining, from the simulating, the blood flow into different regions of a myocardial muscle of the heart into which different branches of the coronary blood vessels lead; and

simulating local perfusion of the myocardial muscle for the different regions from the determined blood flow into the different regions of the myocardial muscle of the heart.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

visualizing an image of the myocardial muscle from which the perfusion of the different regions of the myocardial muscle is identifiable.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the simulating of the blood flow includes calculating a model of the coronary blood vessels on the basis of the segmented coronary blood vessels and simulating the blood flow with the aid of the model.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the simulating of the blood flow is done using a lattice Boltzmann method.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the simulating of the blood flow includes using a statistical model to determine time functions for an arterial inflow and a venous outflow from the imaging data on the basis of an accumulation of contrast agent in the coronary blood vessels.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the simulating of the blood flow additionally includes data of an injection protocol used for administering the contrast agent for the purpose of determining the time functions.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the simulating of the local perfusion of the myocardial muscle includes initially simulating a dynamic accumulation of contrast agent in the myocardial muscle and then calculating perfusion parameters for the perfusion of the myocardial muscle from the dynamic contrast agent accumulation.

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer program instructions, which when operated on a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

simulating a blood flow through coronary blood vessels of a heart on the basis of the segmented coronary blood vessels from imaging data of the heart and determining, from the simulating, the blood flow into different regions of a myocardial muscle of the heart into which different branches of the coronary blood vessels lead; and

simulating local perfusion of the myocardial muscle for the different regions from the determined blood flow into the different regions of the myocardial muscle of the heart.

9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, which, when operated on a processor, causes the processor to further:

visualize an image of the myocardial muscle from which the perfusion of the different regions of the myocardial muscle is identifiable.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the simulating of the blood flow includes calculating a model of the coronary blood vessels on the basis of the segmented coronary blood vessels and simulating the blood flow with the aid of the model.

11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the simulating of the blood flow is done using a lattice Boltzmann method.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the simulating of the blood flow includes using a statistical model to determine time functions for an arterial inflow and a venous outflow from the imaging data on the basis of an accumulation of contrast agent in the coronary blood vessels.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the simulating of the blood flow additionally includes data of an injection protocol used for administering the contrast agent for the purpose of determining the time functions.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the simulating of the local perfusion of the myocardial muscle includes initially simulating a dynamic accumulation of contrast agent in the myocardial muscle and then calculating perfusion parameters for the perfusion of the myocardial muscle from the dynamic contrast agent accumulation.

15. A device for simulating perfusion of the myocardial muscle with the aid of non-dynamic computed tomographic angiography, comprising

a first simulation unit to simulate a blood flow through coronary blood vessels of a heart on the basis of segmented coronary blood vessels from imaging data of the heart, and to determine the blood flow into different regions of a myocardial muscle of the heart into which different branches of the coronary blood vessels lead;

and

a second simulation unit to simulate local perfusion of the myocardial muscle for the different regions from the determined blood flow into the different regions of the myocardial muscle of the heart.

16. The device of claim 15, further comprising:

a visualization unit to visualize an image of the myocardial muscle from which the perfusion of the different regions of the myocardial muscle is identifiable.

17. A computed tomography scanner comprising the device of claim 15.

18. The device of claim 15, wherein the first simulation unit is configured to calculate a model of the coronary blood vessels on the basis of the segmented coronary blood vessels and to simulate the blood flow with the aid of the model.

19. The device of claim 15, wherein the first simulation unit is configured to simulate the blood flow using a lattice Boltzmann method.

20. The device of claim 15, wherein the first simulation unit is configured to simulate the blood flow using a statistical model to determine time functions for an arterial inflow and a venous outflow from the imaging data on the basis of an accumulation of contrast agent in the coronary blood vessels.

21. The device of claim 20, wherein the first simulation unit is additionally configured to use data of an injection protocol used for administering the contrast agent for the purpose of determining the time functions.

22. The device of claim 15, wherein second simulation unit is configured to initially simulate a dynamic accumulation of contrast agent in the myocardial muscle and then calculate perfusion parameters for the perfusion of the myocardial muscle from the dynamic contrast agent accumulation.