Image processing and patient-specific modeling of blood flow

A computer system for non-invasive assessment of an arterial stenosis, comprising:

• a memory having processor-readable instructions stored therein;
• and
• a processor configured to access the memory and execute the processor-readable instructions, which when executed by the processor configures the processor to perform a plurality of functions, including functions to:
• receive medical imaging data pertaining to a patient;
• segment a plurality of mesh candidates for an anatomical model of an artery including a stenosis region of the patient from the received medical imaging data;
• compute a hemodynamic index for the stenosis region in each of the plurality of mesh candidates, wherein computing the hemodynamic index comprises simulating blood flow and pressure in each of the plurality of mesh candidates for the artery of the patient, and computing a fractional flow reserve value for the stenosis region in each of the plurality of mesh candidates based on the blood flow and pressure simulations;
• and
• determine whether a variation among values of the hemodynamic index for the stenosis region in each of the plurality of mesh candidates is significant with respect to a threshold associated with a clinical decision regarding the stenosis region.

A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer program instructions for non-invasive assessment of an arterial stenosis, the computer program instructions when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

• receiving medical imaging data pertaining to a patient;
• segmenting a plurality of mesh candidates for an anatomical model of an artery including a stenosis region of the patient from the received medical imaging data;
• computing a hemodynamic index for the stenosis region in each of the plurality of mesh candidates, wherein computing the hemodynamic index comprises simulating blood flow and pressure in each of the plurality of mesh candidates for the artery of the patient, and computing a fractional flow reserve value for the stenosis region in each of the plurality of mesh candidates based on the blood flow and pressure simulations;
• and
• determining whether a variation among values of the hemodynamic index for the stenosis region in each of the plurality of mesh candidates is significant with respect to a threshold associated with a clinical decision regarding the stenosis region.