Three-dimensional reconstruction of the coronary artery wall by image fusion of intravascular ultrasound and bi-plane angiography

Background: Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is becoming increasingly accept ed for assessing coronary anatomy. However, its utility in visualizing and quantifying coronary morphology has been limited by its 2D tomographic natu re. This study presents a 3D reconstruction technique that accurately prese rves 3D geometric information. Methods and Results: Images obtained from ma nual IVUS pullbacks and continuous bi-plane angiography were fused, using a ngiography to reconstruct the transducer trajectory and aid in solving for the correct rotational orientation. A novel 3D active surface method automa tically identified the luminal and medial-adventitial borders which, when s uperimposed on the transducer trajectory, could be surface-rendered for vis ualization and morphometry. Segmentation agreed well with manual assessment , and 3D luminal shape matched that of angiography when projected to 2D. Co nclusions: We conclude that this method provides an accurate reconstruction of the vessel's anatomy, which accounts for the true curvature of the vess el.