3D reconstruction of the cerebral arterial network from stereotactic DSA

The authors present an automatic algorithm for 3D reconstruction of cerebra l blood vessels by digital subtracted angiography. The patient is localized by a stereotactic method. The reconstruction algorithm includes two steps: first vessel extraction then 2D matching and reconstruction. Accurate vess el skeletons are generated by a combination of mathematical morphological a lgorithms and adaptive filters. The 3D reconstruction algorithm is based on the reconstruction of vessels center lines. For that purpose, three differ ent projections of the vascular network are used. Reconstruction is compute d segment by segment (a curved line between two nodes). For each segment po int, the algorithm defines all epipolar solutions on the other views. These epipolar solutions are sorted and pooled by 2D continuity and 3D proximity criteria resulting in a 3D graph. Optimal 3D segment is defined by a recur sive algorithm that looks up the better path in the 3D graph. The algorithm s have been implemented on a Compatible-PC computer in C language. More tha n 95% of static copper phantom was reconstructed in 5 min and with 1 mm 3D accuracy. 70% of arteries (from carotid to the seventh node) of a true pati ent arterial network were reconstructed is less than 30 min. (C) 1999 Ameri can Association of Physicists in Medicine. [S0094-2405(99)01909-4].