NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL SIMULATION OF CORONARY FLOW CHARACTERIZATION USING ARTERIOGRAPHY

Coronary arteriography is being used only for static imaging of vessel anatomy to assess coronary artery disease. We have completed a pilot study to establish the feasibility of extending this diagnostic techni que to include images descriptive of the local flow in an artery. The study was undertaken to meet the need for flow-based measurements to c larify the relationship between blood flow and the frequent occurrence of postangioplasty complications. Our approach entails producing imag es that code fluid arrival times and turbulence as pixel intensities. This technique has been used successfully to reveal flow recirculation and turbulence zones in processed imagery from experimentally acquire d arteriograms, and these results have been confirmed using numerical simulations. We have concluded that flow-sensitive imaging is possible from processed sequential arteriograms. Further development and testi ng of the method are therefore recommended to explore its usefulness a s a diagnostic supplement to conventional coronary arteriography.