Summary
IntraCoronary UltraSound (ICUS) data are the basis of two-dimensional (2D) quantitative information and three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction. A method for semi-automatic 3D image quantification for volumetric study of series of echo slices has been developed. The semi-automatic contour detection method was tested in-vitro in tubular phantoms of known dimensions. Intra- and interobserver variability was evaluated in-vivo for area and volume measurements of diseased human coronary arteries.
High blood backscatter level at ICUS imaging frequencies appears to be a major limiting factor for automatic contour procedures and 3D reconstruction. Video-frame averaging methods have shown to be helpful for reducing intra- and interobserver variability of the manual lumen definition, but not sufficient to enhance the image for automatic contour detection.
New technologies to use the RadioFrequency (RF) ultrasonic signal for image improvement, although still in their early development stage, are looking promising. A RF processing technique based on correlation of a time sequence of RF echo traces can yield a high value at the wall region against a low value in the lumen region. With the RF correlation technique, the image can be improved drastically, thus facilitating application of fully automated image segmentation techniques. Furthermore, the RF processing methods may provide other quantitative parameters about functions of the vessel. These methods include:
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1.
Flow estimation. The de-correlation procedure of blood scattering signals is related to the velocity of blood particles traveling across the ultrasound beam. Quantifying this procedure may provide an estimation of 2D velocities distribution for the blood flow;
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2.
Intravascular elastography. Tissue with different elastic properties will reveal different strains to an applied stress. This is currently used for functional imaging.
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Wenguang, L. et al. (1996). State of the art in ICUS quantitation. In: Reiber, J.H.C., van der Wall, E.E. (eds) Cardiovascular Imaging. Developments in Cardiovascular Medicine, vol 186. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0291-6_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0291-6_6
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