Optical lumen measurement of coronary artery latex casts

To facilitate calibration and testing of quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) systems, an optical technique has been developed to measure the vessel dimensions of complex coronary artery phantoms. The technique provides accurate geometric data such as centerline position and cross-sectional area of vessel branches. The sequential steps involved in the measurement include taking pictures of different views, tracing magnified images, point-by-point digitizing and computing the center positions and radii along each vessel branch. The accuracy of the optical technique is assessed using the measurement of a precisely known aluminum phantom. Measurement repeatability is assessed by multiple measurement of the same branches on a barium impregnated latex cast which provides a realistic coronary artery phantom. The measurement is demonstrated to be accurate to within 0.01 mm and repeatable to within 0.05 mm on the wire phantom measurement and 0.08 mm on the realistic phantom measurement.