Dynamic feature extraction of coronary artery motion using DSA image sequences

This paper aims to define and describe features of the motion of coronary a rteries in two and three dimensions, presented as geometrical parameters th at identify motion patterns. The main left coronary artery centerlines, obt ained from digital subtraction angiography (DSA) image sequences, are first reconstructed. Thereafter, global and local motion features are evaluated along the sequence. The global attributes are centerline and point trajecto ry lengths, displacement amplitude, and virtual reference point, while loca l attributes are displacement direction, perpendicular/radial components, r otation direction, and curvature and torsion. These kinetic features allow us to obtain a detailed quantitative description of the displacements of ar teries' centerlines, as well as associated epicardium deformations. Our mod eling of local attributes as quasi-homogeneous on a segment analysis, enabl es us to propose a novel numeric to symbolic image transformation, which pr ovides the required facts for knowledge-based motion interpretation. Experi mental results using real data are consistent with cardiac dynamic behavior .