The present invention relates a segmentation apparatus (10) for interactively segmenting blood vessels (2) in angiographic image data (3). The segmentation apparatus (10) comprises a significant location determining unit (11) for determining one or more locations of a current segmentation (4) of the blood vessels (2) in the angiographic image data (3) as significant locations (5) at which the current segmentation (4) has a predetermined influence on a value of a blood flow parameter that is calculated based on the current segmentation (4), and a display unit (12) for displaying the significant locations (5) to an operator. Thereby, the operator can be guided to focus his/her segmentation efforts to those locations of the current segmentation (4) that are most relevant for the accuracy of the calculation of the value of the blood flow parameter. This may ease the burden on the operator during the segmentation procedure.

Systems and methods are disclosed for predicting coronary plaque vulnerability, using a computer system. One method includes acquiring anatomical image data of at least part the patient's vascular system; performing, using a processor, one or more image characteristics analysis, geometrical analysis, computational fluid dynamics analysis, and structural mechanics analysis on the anatomical image data; predicting, using the processor, a coronary plaque vulnerability present in the patient's vascular system, wherein predicting the coronary plaque vulnerability includes calculating an adverse plaque characteristic based on results of the one or more of image characteristics analysis, geometrical analysis, computational fluid dynamics analysis, and structural mechanics analysis of the anatomical image data; and reporting, using the processor, the calculated adverse plaque characteristic.

A computer implemented method for assessing an arterio-venous malformation (AVM) may include, for example, receiving a patient-specific model of a portion of an anatomy of a patient; using a computer processor to analyze the patient-specific model for identifying one or more blood vessels associated with the AVM, in the patient-specific model; and estimating a risk of an undesirable outcome caused by the AVM, by performing computer simulations of blood flow through the one or more blood vessels associated with the AVM in the patient-specific model.

Provided is a system for supporting the treatment of vascular diseases by performing a blood flow simulation based on a medical image, the system comprising: an input unit that reads the medical image, fluid properties and boundary conditions from a data storage unit; a blood flow analysis execution unit that obtains a pressure field and a flow velocity field based on the medical image read by the input unit; a blood flow information calculation unit that calculates, based on the pressure field and the flow velocity field, blood flow information about a specific blood vessel being treated; a vascular treatment risk assessment unit that calculates, based on the calculated blood flow information, the proportion of a blood flow volume flowing into an aneurysm as a risk factor associated with the vascular treatment of the blood vessel being treated; and display units that display the calculation results to a user.

A method for extracting a major vessel region from a vessel image by a processor may comprise the steps of: extracting an entire vessel region from a vessel image; extracting a major vessel region from the vessel image on the basis of a machine learning model which extracts a major vessel region; and revising the major vessel region by connecting separated vessel portions on the basis of the entire vessel region.

A technique is disclosed for helping prevent image quality of a three-dimensional image from becoming poor due to fluctuations in the rotation speed of an imaging core. For this purpose, if data is obtained from the imaging core by moving and rotating the imaging core, a cross-sectional image is generated at each movement position. Then, a direction where a guidewire is present in each of the cross-sectional images is detected. An angular difference between the direction of the detected guidewire and a preset direction is obtained so as to rotate each of the cross-sectional images in accordance with the angular difference. Then, the cross-sectional images which are previously rotated in this way are connected to one another, thereby generating the three-dimensional image.

A system includes a processor circuit that receives intravascular imaging data from an intravascular imaging catheter, an x-ray image from an x-ray imaging device, and intravascular pressure data from an intravascular pressure-sensing guidewire. The processor circuit correlates the intravascular imaging data and the intravascular pressure data to locations along a body lumen shown in the x-ray image. The processor circuit generates a longitudinal view of the body lumen based on the intravascular imaging data and outputs a screen display including the longitudinal view of the body lumen with an overlaid graphical representation corresponding to the intravascular pressure measurements.

According to one embodiment, an image processing device includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry acquires a plurality of first image data indicating a plurality of time-sequential bloodstream images obtained after administering contrast agent to an object, and sets a target region on second image data. The second image data are generated based on the plurality of the first image data so as to indicate information on temporal change of pixel values of each pixel. Further, the processing circuitry selects a reproduction section by selecting at least reproduction-start image data and reproduction-end image data from the plurality of first image data based on bloodstream information of the target region.

Image processing methods and related systems (IPS) to process imagery (F) acquired during deposition of a substance at a region of interest, ROI The methods and systems allow visualizing in a graphics display (GD) various aspects of the deposited substance and/or determining, based on the imagery, the amount of said substance deposited at the ROI

An X-ray imaging apparatus includes an X-ray irradiation element, an X-ray detection element, an X-ray image generation element, and an image processing analysis element. The image processing analysis element reflects the analysis point on each frame based on a respective relative location between a characteristic point 10 of the X-ray image consisting of a plurality of frames. In addition, an image analysis element analyzes the time-course variation of the blood flow in the blood vessel of the heart based on the variation of the pixel value at the analysis point of each frame of the X-ray image.