Method and system for image processing to determine patient-specific blood flow characteristics
AssigneeHeartFlow, Inc.
InventorCharles A. Taylor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Embodiments include a system for determining cardiovascular information for a patient. The system may include at least one computer system configured to receive patient-specific data regarding a geometry of the patient's heart, and create a three-dimensional model representing at least a portion of the patient's heart based on the patient-specific data. The at least one computer system may be further configured to create a physics-based model relating to a blood flow characteristic of the patient's heart and determine a fractional flow reserve within the patient's heart based on the three-dimensional model and the physics-based model.
Claims15
1-184. (canceled)
A method of image processing to assess vascular function of a cardiac vasculature having at least one stenotic segment, the method comprising:
- receiving, by image processing circuitry, a first vascular model modeling the cardiac vasculature;
- determining at least one characteristic of flow through the stenotic segment in the first vascular model;
- generating a second vascular model, from the first vascular model, with at least one modification to the second vascular model to produce a difference in the characteristic of flow for the second vascular model;
- further determining the characteristic of flow for the second vascular model corresponding to the characteristic of flow for the first vascular model;
- and
- calculating a flow index quantifying the vascular function of the cardiac vasculature modeled by the first vascular model, wherein the calculating is based on comparing the characteristics of flow in the first and second vascular models.
A system for image processing to assess vascular function of a cardiac vasculature having a stenotic segment, the system comprising a computer configured to:
- receive a plurality of 2-D images of the cardiac vasculature;
- convert the plurality of 2-D images to a first vascular model modeling the cardiac vasculature;
- determine at least one characteristic of flow in the first vascular model through the stenotic segment;
- generate a second vascular model from the first vascular model to produce at least one modification that alters the at least one characteristic of flow;
- further determine the characteristic of flow for the second vascular model corresponding to the characteristic of flow for the first vascular model;
- and
- calculate a flow index quantifying the vascular function of the cardiac vasculature modeled by the first vascular model, wherein the computer calculates the flow index by comparing the characteristic of flow in the first and second vascular models.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.