Assessing Cardiac Dynamics based on X-Ray Coronary Angiograms

The problem of quantitatively assessing cardiac motion including global and local dynamic performances during cardiac cycles is addressed. In vivo X-ray coronary angiographic image sequences covering several cardiac cycles are used as source image data. The three-dimensional (3-D) surface of the heart based on extended superquadrics (ESQ) surface model in each phase is constructed from 3-D coronary vessel skeletons, which are reconstructed from a pair of nearly orthogonal angiographic sequences. Complex dynamic performances of the heart are decomposed into global and local components according to a priori anatomical and dynamic knowledge that have been confirmed by medical observations and non-rigid motion theory. Parameters of all components are quantitatively estimated through motion decomposition and compensation. Consequently, cardiac dynamics during cardiac cycles are comprehensively depicted with quantitative parameters. Validation of the proposed method with clinically acquired in vivo image data has been carried out, the results of which have verified the feasibility and accuracy of the proposed method.