Local deformation analysis of the heart left ventricle using SPHARM descriptors and modified hotelling T2 metric

A closed surface of a 3D object with spherical topology can be expressed into a series of spherical harmonic (SPHARM) functions. The SPHARM descriptors allow accurate representation of large data sets with small number of coefficients. In this paper, we present a new approach for regional deformation analysis of the heart left ventricle (LV). We use spherical harmonics (SPHARM) shape descriptors with the modified Hotelling T2 metric in order to characterize the myocardium disease extent and its severity. This approach has been validated with real data obtained from myocardial scintigraphy imaging techniques. The obtained results show its effectiveness and validity.