title: The development of an automatically produced cholangiography procedure using the reconstruction of portal-phase multidetector-row computed tomography images: preliminary experience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Fusion angiography using reconstructed multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) images, and cholangiography using reconstructed images from MDCT with a cholangiographic agent include an anatomical gap due to the different periods of MDCT scanning. To conquer such gaps, we attempted to develop a cholangiography procedure that automatically reconstructs a cholangiogram from portal-phase MDCT images.
  
  
  METHODS
  The automatically produced cholangiography procedure utilized an original software program that was developed by the Graduate School of Information Science, Nagoya University. This program structured 5 candidate biliary tracts, and automatically selected one as the candidate for cholangiography. The clinical value of the automatically produced cholangiography procedure was estimated based on a comparison with manually produced cholangiography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Automatically produced cholangiograms were reconstructed for 20 patients who underwent MDCT scanning before biliary drainage for distal biliary obstruction. The procedure showed the ability to extract the 5 main biliary branches and the 21 subsegmental biliary branches in 55 and 25 % of the cases, respectively. The extent of aberrant connections and aberrant extractions outside the biliary tract was acceptable. Among all of the cholangiograms, 5 were clinically applied with no correction, 8 were applied with modest improvements, and 3 produced a correct cholangiography before automatic selection.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although our procedure requires further improvement based on the analysis of additional patient data, it may represent an alternative to direct cholangiography in the future.
authors: Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8550, Japan.
authors: Tomoaki
authors: T
authors: Hirose
authors: Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8550, Japan. igami@med.nagoya-u.ac.jp.
authors: Tsuyoshi
authors: T
authors: Igami
authors: Graduate School of Information Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan.
authors: Kusuto
authors: K
authors: Koga
authors: Information Strategy Office, Information and Communications, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan.
authors: Yuichiro
authors: Y
authors: Hayashi
authors: Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8550, Japan.
authors: Tomoki
authors: T
authors: Ebata
authors: Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8550, Japan.
authors: Yukihiro
authors: Y
authors: Yokoyama
authors: Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8550, Japan.
authors: Gen
authors: G
authors: Sugawara
authors: Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8550, Japan.
authors: Takashi
authors: T
authors: Mizuno
authors: Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8550, Japan.
authors: Junpei
authors: J
authors: Yamaguchi
authors: Graduate School of Information Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan.|Information Strategy Office, Information and Communications, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan.
authors: Kensaku
authors: K
authors: Mori
authors: Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8550, Japan.
authors: Masato
authors: M
authors: Nagino
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001659:Biliary Tract / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002758:Cholangiography / Q000379:methods*; D002779:Cholestasis / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D041781:Jaundice, Obstructive / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Automatically produced cholangiography; Cholangiography; Multidetector-row computed tomography; Portal-phase images