Method and apparatus for vessel characterization

A computer-program product for characterizing the narrowing in a vessel, the computer-program product for use in conjunction with a computer system, the computer-program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium and a computer-program mechanism embedded therein, the computer-program mechanism comprising:

• instructions for determining a location of the narrowing;
• instructions for determining a first velocity profile on a first surface, wherein the velocity profile corresponds to a fluid moving in the vessel and the first surface being in a region where the fluid motion is substantially laminar;
• instructions for determining a set of velocity profiles corresponding to the fluid motion, wherein respective velocity profiles in the set of velocity profiles are determined on respective surfaces downstream of the narrowing and are approximately downstream of a region of turbulent flow;
• and
• instructions for determining a first characteristic of the narrowing in accordance with the first velocity profile and the set of velocity profiles.

A device for characterizing the narrowing in a vessel, comprising:

• at least one processor;
• at least one memory;
• and
• at least one program module, the program module stored in the memory and executed by the processor, the program module containing:
• instructions for determining a location of the narrowing;
• instructions for determining a first velocity profile on a first surface, wherein the velocity profile corresponds to a fluid moving in the vessel and the first surface being in a region where the fluid motion is substantially laminar;
• instructions for determining a set of velocity profiles corresponding to the fluid motion, wherein respective velocity profiles in the set of velocity profiles are determined on respective surfaces downstream of the narrowing and are approximately downstream of a region of turbulent flow;
• and
• instructions for determining a first characteristic of the narrowing in accordance with the first velocity profile and the set of velocity profiles.

A computer mechanism for characterizing the narrowing in a vessel, comprising:

• processor means for performing computations;
• memory means;
• and
• program module mechanism, the program module mechanism stored in the memory means and executed by the processor means, the program module mechanism containing:
• instructions for determining a location of the narrowing;
• instructions for determining a first velocity profile on a first surface, wherein the velocity profile corresponds to a fluid moving in the vessel and the first surface being in a region where the fluid motion is substantially laminar;
• instructions for determining a set of velocity profiles corresponding to the fluid motion, wherein respective velocity profiles in the set of velocity profiles are determined on respective surfaces downstream of the narrowing and are approximately downstream of a region of turbulent flow;
• and
• instructions for determining a first characteristic of the narrowing in accordance with the first velocity profile and the set of velocity profiles.