Three-dimensional reconstruction of the coronary artery wall by image fusion of intravascular ultrasound and bi-plane angiography.
BACKGROUND
Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is becoming increasingly accepted for assessing coronary anatomy. However, its utility in visualizing and quantifying coronary morphology has been limited by its 2D tomographic nature. This study presents a 3D reconstruction technique that accurately preserves 3D geometric information.


RESULTS
Images obtained from manual IVUS pullbacks and continuous bi-plane angiography were fused, using angiography to reconstruct the transducer trajectory and aid in solving for the correct rotational orientation. A novel 3D active surface method automatically identified the luminal and medial-adventitial borders which, when superimposed on the transducer trajectory, could be surface-rendered for visualization and morphometry. Segmentation agreed well with manual assessment, and 3D luminal shape matched that of angiography when projected to 2D.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that this method provides an accurate reconstruction of the vessel's anatomy, which accounts for the true curvature of the vessel.
Cothren
R M
RM
Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio 44195, USA.
Shekhar
R
R
Tuzcu
E M
EM
Nissen
S E
SE
Cornhill
J F
JF
Vince
D G
DG
D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D046508:Culture Techniques; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008875:Middle Aged; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional / Q000379:methods*