Improved flow reconstruction in 3D rotational angiography (3DRA)

The reconstruction of the contrast agent bolus propagation adds a new dimension to 3D rotational angiography. In this contribution, a noninteractive method for flow reconstruction in three-dimensional vessel structures is presented. It is based on a standard 3D rotational angiography procedure followed by the acquisition of a high-speed projection series with fixed angulation. The bolus propagation information which is calculated from the second series is mapped to the reconstructed volume data set resulting from the 3DRA procedure. Thus, a 4D data set results. Volume rendered images of 4D data sets which have been obtained by applying the flow reconstruction method to several patient data sets are presented. In these images, in addition to the pure static 3D information the contrast agent propagation within the 3D vessel tree is clearly visible.