Modeling hepatic enhancement in computer tomography for texture interpretation

The objective of this study is to show how computational modeling can be used to study the textural feature variations in computed tomography (CT). Two models are combined to result in the simulation of liver enhancement. First, a physiological vascular model is used to generate the three-dimensional hepatic vascular network from the main branches (hepatic artery, portal vein and hepatic vein) to small arterioles and veinules. Then, the propagation of the contrast material is simulated through this macro-vascular network and at the microscopic level in the parenchyma. The physical process of CT acquisition allows a timed-stamped series of images to be synthesized with varying acquisition parameters. This approach is applied to track the evolution of the texture corresponding to a hyper-vascular tumor.