Computer-assisted quantitative analysis of new interventional treatment methods

Recently Bioresorbable metal scaffolds have been added to the treatment choices for coronary artery disease. They can replace permanent metallic implanted stents and to assess their clinical performance several imaging methods were applied amongst which intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). However, standard quantitative analysis of IVUS data neglects both the three-dimensional nature of the coronary arteries as well as the influence of cardiac motion. In order to improve the accuracy of the IVUS analysis over the past years several new processing algorithms and semi-automated tools have been developed. This study evaluates if the application of these new methods would result in a different evaluation of a new coronary treatment method by reanalyzing a clinical study previously assessed by older analysis methods.