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2008
Conference Paper
Title
Novel techniques for automatically enhanced visualization of coronary arteries in MSCT data and for drawing direct comparisons to conventional angiography
Abstract
The new generation of multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) scanners enables the radiologist to assess the coronary arteries in a non-invasive way. The question of particular interest is whether the quality of the findings based on MSCT data can compete with the gold standard - the coronary angiography. In this work we present novel automated methods for a reliable visualization of coronary arteries and for drawing direct visual side-by-side comparisons to conventional angiograms. Our approach comprises a new method for automatically extracting the heart from cardiac CT data and an advanced masking method for eliminating large cardiac cavities to obtain a better visibility of the coronary arteries in the rendered CT data. For drawing direct side-by-side comparisons we present a novel approach for simulating the conventional coronary angiography in an easy-to-handle manner. The new methods have been developed for and tested with contrast-enhanced cardiac CT datasets.
Author(s)