Three-dimensional model-based stenosis quantification of the carotid arteries from contrast-enhanced MR angiography
A model-based technique for quantitative analysis of three-dimensional magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) is presented. The model consists of a deformable B-spline representation of the central vessel axis and the vessel wall. An efficient interaction mechanism to initialize the models in a three-dimensional setting is devised. Two novel image features are introduced in order to deform the central vessel axis and the vessel wall model respectively. A segmental optimization scheme for deforming the B-spline vessel wall model is introduced. Finally, the paper presents results on clinical contrast enhanced (CE) MRA of 19 carotid arteries. Percentages of stenosis obtained with the authors' technique are compared to those of two experts using caliper measurements on Maximum Intensity Projection (MIP) CE MRA, and Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA) as standard of reference.