Session SA2.5

A Method towards Automated Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) Frame Counting Using 3D Reconstruction

GA ten Brinke*, CH Slump, CJ Storm

University of Twente
Enschede, Netherlands

Coronary stenosis is often assessed using planar X-ray angiography while injecting contrast agent. The data obtained during the intervention can be used to assess coronary flow by tracking the contrast agent. The contrast flow can be used to estimate the functional behavior of the coronary arteries using TIMI frame counting. In this paper we propose and evaluate a method towards the automation of TIMI frame counting.
The method creates a two dimensional map of the contrast agent in which the opacification of the vessel centerline is plotted against time. This map is used to find the velocity of the contrast agent and subsequently the TIMI frame count. The vessel centerline is found using the Fast Marching Method to find the lowest cost path between the catheter point and the manually selected endpoint of the vessel. Three dimensional reconstruction of the coronary arteries is used for contrast velocity quantization.
Results from 22 patients show that the algorithm is able to estimate TFC correctly in 13 of 22 cases within the intra observer error range of +/- 5 frames compared to manual TFC.

(Abstract Control Number: 217)