Method for Estimating Pressure Gradients and Fractional Flow Reserve from Computed Tomography Angiography: Transluminal Attenuation Flow Encoding

Abstract

An embodiment in accordance with the present invention provides a method for non-invasively determining the functional severity of coronary artery stenosis. The method includes gathering patient-specific data related to concentration of a contrast agent within a coronary artery of a patient using a coronary computed tomography angiography scan (CCTA). The patient-specific data is used to calculate a patient-specific transarterial attenuation gradient for the coronary artery of the patient. The patient specific transarterial attenuation gradient is compared to previously collected data to determine an estimate of a pressure gradient and/or fractional flow reserve (FFR) for the patient. As more data is collected, the data can be added to the database in order to increase the accuracy of future assessments. The database can also be enhanced by adding data generated by canonical models and mathematical analysis.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.