Automatic Transfer Function Specification for Visual Emphasis of Coronary Artery Plaque

Cardiovascular imaging with current multislice spiral computed tomography (MSCT) technology enables a non‐invasive evaluation of the coronary arteries. Contrast‐enhanced MSCT angiography with high spatial resolution allows for a segmentation of the coronary artery tree. We present an automatically a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Computer graphics forum Vol. 29; no. 1; pp. 191 - 201
Main Authors: Glaßer, S., Oeltze, S., Hennemuth, A., Kubisch, C., Mahnken, A., Wilhelmsen, S., Preim, B.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.03.2010
Subjects:
Computer graphics
Coronary vessels
I.3.3 [Computer Graphics]: Display algorithms
Medical imaging
Stents
Studies
Tomography
transfer function
Veins & arteries
vessel visualization
Visualization
volume rendering
ISSN:0167-7055, 1467-8659
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Cardiovascular imaging with current multislice spiral computed tomography (MSCT) technology enables a non‐invasive evaluation of the coronary arteries. Contrast‐enhanced MSCT angiography with high spatial resolution allows for a segmentation of the coronary artery tree. We present an automatically adapted transfer function (TF) specification to highlight pathologic changes of the vessel wall based on the segmentation result of the coronary artery tree. The TFs are combined with common visualization techniques, such as multiplanar reformation and direct volume rendering for the evaluation of coronary arteries in MSCT image data. The presented TF‐based mapping of CT values in Hounsfield Units (HU) to color and opacity leads to a different color coding for different plaque types. To account for varying HU values of the vessel lumen caused by the contrast medium, the TFs are adapted to each dataset by local histogram analysis. We describe an informal evaluation with three board‐certified radiologists which indicates that the represented visualizations guide the user's attention to pathologic changes of the vessel wall as well as provide an overview about spatial variations.
Bibliography:istex:E9D4C33B2386A56A49E2B7312214F71F07C1D28B
ark:/67375/WNG-4X0C62P9-9
ArticleID:CGF1590
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ISSN:0167-7055
1467-8659
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-8659.2009.01590.x