Determination of vessel cross section for flow rate quantification

This study was motivated by the interest of measuring different cardiac parameters for which changes in the flow rate during a cardiac cycle needs to be determined at different positions along a vessel segment. These measurements result in a great number of images for which automatic contour detection is very helpful. A model-based algorithm for intraluminal contour detection has been developed in order to allow an accurate quantitative image analysis. The algorithm permits to select contours automatically on all the frames and slices of an imaging study. Images obtained on a flow phantom simulating the effects of blood circulation in large arteries have been used to validate the method. They were acquired with a specially designed interleaved multi slice and phase sequence, using a standard whole-body 2 Tesla NMR scanner. A potential in vivo application of the algorithm has been demonstrated on abdominal aorta images.