Automatic determination of LV orientation from SPECT data

Abstract

This paper presents a new method to determine the orientation or pose of the left ventricle (LV) of the heart from cardiac SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) data. This proposed approach offers an accurate, fast, and robust delineation of the LV long-axis. The location and shape of the generated long-axis can then be utilized to define automatically the tomographic slices for enhanced visualization and quantification of the clinical data. The methodology is broadly composed of two main steps: 1) volume segmentation of cardiac SPECT data; and 2) topological goniometry, a novel approach incorporating volume visualization and computer graphics ideas to determine the overall shape of 3-D objects. The outcome of the algorithm is a 3-D curve representing the overall pose of the LV long-axis. Experimental results on both phantom and clinical data (50 Technetium-99m and 74 Thallium-201) are presented in this paper. An interactive graphical interface to visualize the volume (3-D) data, the left ventricle, and its pose is an integral part of the overall methodology. This technique is completely data driven and expeditious, making it viable for routine clinical use.