A method for 3D reconstruction of coronary arteries using biplane angiography and intravascular ultrasound images

The aim of this study is to describe a new method for the three-dimensional reconstruction of coronary arteries and its quantitative validation. Our approach is based on the fusion of the data provided by intravascular ultrasound images (IVUS) and biplane angiographies. A specific segmentation algorithm is used for the detection of the regions of interest in intravascular ultrasound images. A new methodology is also introduced for the accurate extraction of the catheter path. In detail, a cubic B-spline is used for approximating the catheter path in each biplane projection. Each B-spline curve is swept along the normal direction of its X-ray angiographic plane forming a surface. The intersection of the two surfaces is a 3D curve, which represents the reconstructed path. The detected regions of interest in the IVUS images are placed perpendicularly onto the path and their relative axial twist is computed using the sequential triangulation algorithm. Then, an efficient algorithm is applied to estimate the absolute orientation of the first IVUS frame. In order to obtain 3D visualization the commercial package Geomagic Studio 4.0 is used. The performance of the proposed method is assessed using a validation methodology which addresses the separate validation of each step followed for obtaining the coronary reconstruction. The performance of the segmentation algorithm was examined in 80 IVUS images. The reliability of the path extraction method was studied in vitro using a metal wire model and in vivo in a dataset of 11 patients. The performance of the sequential triangulation algorithm was tested in two gutter models and in the coronary arteries (marked with metal clips) of six cadaveric sheep hearts. Finally, the accuracy in the estimation of the first IVUS frame absolute orientation was examined in the same set of cadaveric sheep hearts. The obtained results demonstrate that the proposed reconstruction method is reliable and capable of depicting the morphology of coronary arteries.