A Software System for 4D Investigation of the Left Ventricle in Cardiac X-Ray Angiography

Accurate assessment of regional myocardial function after infarction is a challenging task for biplanar X-ray angiography, where sequences of two-dimensional images of the left ventricle (LV) are acquired and three-dimensional information is lost due to projection. In clinical practice, quantitative LV analysis is done in 2D, utilizing the end-diastolic and end-systolic contours for motion measurement. Thus, myocardial function is only assessed at the ventricular boundary area projected to the image. A software system for analyzing left ventricular motion activity in 4D was developed, allowing evaluation of myocardial function in any region of the ventricle rather than at the projected boundary area. The system allows reconstruction of 4D LV models from raw image data. Radial and centerline method, originally designed for 2D motion analysis, were extended for 4D model evaluation.