Innovative Tool for Automatic Detection of Arterial Stenosis on Cone Beam Computed Tomography

Abstract

Arterial stenosis is one of the main vascular diseases that are treated with minimally invasive surgery approaches. The aim of this study was to provide a tool to support the medical doctor in planning endovascular surgery, allowing the rapid detection of stenotic vessels and the quantification of the stenosis. Skeletonization was used to improve vessels’ visualization. The distance transform was used to obtain a linear representation of the diameter of critical vessels selected by the user. The system also provides an estimate of the exact distance between landmarks on the vascular tree and the occlusion, important information that can be used in the planning of the surgery. The advantage of the proposed tool is to lead the examination on the linear representation of the chosen vessels that are free from tortuous vascular courses and from vessel crossings.

Special Issue on Artificial Intelligence in Medical Imaging: The Beginning of a New Era

“…At the same time, other innovative systems are spreading such as augmented reality, which is an immersive technology that together with AI could be used to improve the performance of surgeons during interventions [14,15]. That is why different approaches to superimpose the images created in specific parts of the body and their accurate representations are being studied [16]. In addition, AI can also be used in a new emerging discipline: radiomics.…”

Improvement of Neurovascular Imaging Using Ultra-High-Resolution Computed Tomography Angiography

“…Additionally, patients would also benefit from a reduced radiation exposure. Ultra-high-resolution imaging of the cerebral vessels was achieved with 7T TOF MRA [20][21][22] and cone beam CT [23] with very promising results, allowing better vi-sualization of the small and peripheral vessels and their perivascular tissue.…”