Volume Tomographic Angiography Imaging (VTAI)

Identification of patients who will benefit from specific therapeutic procedure requires the accurate assessment of the severity of stenoses, their geometry and spatial orientation. Most therapeutic decisions are currently based on information obtained through digital angiography. Standard angiographic images may not provide angiographers with sufficient information needed to make therapeutic decisions. The long-term goal of this project is to develop a volume tomographic angiography imaging (VTAI) technique to provide angiographers with useful 3-D vascular images needed for diagnostic and therapeutic decisions. VTAI combines volume tomographic imaging principles with those of digital angiography. VTAI may require only a single contrast injection and volume scan to provide a true 3-D description of vascular anatomy and stenoses in head, neck and abdomen. This project (Phase I) is an attempt to improve the performance of certain 3-D reconstruction algorithms for use with real time 2-D angiographic images generated by a specially designed rotational angiographic digital imaging (ROAD) system. A specially modified CT gantry has been equipped with an image intensifier subsystem to model the ROAD system. This work has been completed and will be used to provide model data sets for the software research effort. The clinical significance of this technique is to simplify the procedure, reduce the amount of injected contrast media, and total x-ray dose and the procedure time. This technique will supply the angiographer with a direct, unambiguous and accurate measurement of the severity of the stenoses, their geometry and spatial orientation, and allowing optimal randomly oriented viewing of vascular structures during a post processing diagnostic session.