Fusion of intravascular ultrasound and biplane angiography for three-dimensional reconstruction of coronary arteries

Typical three dimensional (3D) techniques of coronary arteries from ultrasound (IVUS) have assumed that the artery was straight and disregarded the angular orientation of IVUS slices. We achieved accurate 3D reconstruction of coronary arteries by following the transducer in time with the aid of biplane angiograms. Simultaneously acquired IVUS images were then placed perpendicular to the transducer path. Angular orientation of the IVUS slices was determined by using the lumen outlines and the biplane contrast angiograms. Tracking the transducer eliminates the need far assisted pullback making the procedure more accurate and suitable for clinical use. The reconstruction algorithm was evaluated for consistency using a self-validation scheme that created simulated angiograms, which were then compared with acquired angiograms. A good correlation (up to 68% area overlap) was found between the two.