Fast delineation and visualization of vessels in 3-D angiographic images.
A method is presented which aids the clinician in obtaining quantitative measures and a three-dimensional (3-D) representation of vessels from 3-D angiographic data with a minimum of user interaction. Based on two user defined starting points, an iterative procedure tracks the central vessel axis. During the tracking process, the minimum diameter and a surface rendering of the vessels are computed, allowing for interactive inspection of the vasculature. Applications of the method to CTA, contrast enhanced (CE)-MRA and phase contrast (PC)-MRA images of the abdomen are shown. In all applications, a long stretch of vessels with varying width is tracked, delineated, and visualized, in less than 10 s on a standard clinical workstation.
Image Sciences Institute, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands. onno@isi.uu.nl
O
O
Wink
W J
WJ
Niessen
M A
MA
Viergever
D000465:Algorithms; D000792:Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D016477:Artifacts; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed