Program Information
Quantification of Coronary Artery Cross-Sectional Area in CT Angiography Using Integrated Density: A Simulation Study
T Johnson*, H Ding , J Lipinski , S Molloi , University of California, Irvine, CA
Presentations
SU-E-I-25 (Sunday, July 12, 2015) 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM Room: Exhibit Hall
Purpose: To develop a physics-based model for accurate quantification of the cross-sectional area (CSA) of coronary arteries in CT angiography by measuring the integrated density to account for the partial volume effect.
Methods: In this technique the integrated density of the object as compared with its local background is measured to account for the partial volume effect. Normal vessels were simulated as circles with diameters in the range of 0.1–3mm. Diseased vessels were simulated as 2, 3, and 4mm diameter vessels with 10-90% area stenosis, created by inserting circular plaques. A simplified two material model was used with the lumen as 8mg/ml Iodine and background as lipid. The contrast-to-noise ratio between lumen and background was approximately 26. Linear fits to the known CSA were calculated. The precision and accuracy of the measurement were quantified using the root-mean-square fit deviations (RMSD) and errors to the known CSA (RMSE). Results compared to manual segmentation of the vessel lumen. To assess the impact of random variations, coefficients of variation (CV) from 10 simulations for each vessel were computed to determine reliability. Measurements with CVs less than 10% were considered reliable.
Results: For normal vessels, the precision and accuracy of the integrated density technique were 0.12mm² and 0.28mm², respectively. The corresponding results for manual segmentation were 0.27mm² and 0.43mm². For diseased vessels, the precision and accuracy of the integrated density technique were 0.14mm² and 0.19mm². Corresponding results for manual segmentation were 0.42mm² and 0.71mm². Reliable CSAs were obtained for normal vessels with diameters larger than 1 mm and for diseased vessels with area as low as 1.26mm2.
Conclusion: The CSA based on integrated density showed improved precision and accuracy as compared with manual segmentation in simulation. These results indicate the potential of using integrated density to quantify CSA of coronary arteries in CT angiography.
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