Measurement of Vascular Configuration Based on Fusion of Angiogram and Intravascular Ultrasound Images

A method is proposed to quantitatively measure vascular morphological parameters including vessel segment length, volume, local curvature and plaque volume from X-ray angiograms and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) images, which are widely used imaging modalities for diagnosing vascular diseases. Firstly, through fusing spatial geometry of IVUS catheter pullback path reconstructed from angiograms with cross-sectional information of vessel lumen detected from IVUS frames, geometrically correct reconstruction of vessels are obtained as angiography and IVUS are complementary imaging modalities for vessels. Then, vascular morphological parameters are measured with the 3D vessel model. Such a measurement is more accurate than those performed on vessel models reconstructed from only angiograms or IVUS images. The validity is demonstrated with clinical and simulated data.