Live 3 D Visualization of Cardiac Catheterization

This research will design and build an easy-to-use, 3-D imaging system for cardiac catheteriza-tion by applying a novel algorithm to produce a live, 3-D reconstruction of the coronary artery tree. Thissystem requires three or four projections and shows complex vessel cross-section in greater detail. Itprovides an efficient and more accurate method for guiding catheterization and evaluating coronaryvessel pathoanatomy than the 2-D method. With 2-D, the observer derives an estimate of the narrowingof vessel diameter by looking at, and averaging, two 2-D projections taken at right angles to each other.The limitations of the 2-D method are (1) a significant error of estimating lumen size may occur whenan atherosclerotic plaque is not perfectly round, is located eccentrically within the lumen, or has anirregular shape, and (2) foreshortened views of some parts of vessels require repositioning of the x-raycamera system. Repositioning distracts the observer, prolongs the procedure, and increases the risksto the patient, (3) repositioning requires repeated injection of the contrast dye, stressing the patientphysiologically. The new method has the potential to replace the visual interpretation of 2-D coronaryarteriograms for guiding cardiac catheterization and would supercede reliance on the 2-D method, whichhas been the 'gold-standard' for pathoanatomy of coronary heart disease. The goal is to simplify thecatheterization procedure, make it safer, and reduce its cost.