Optimal view map v.0.01

An imaging system which performs a method for optimally viewing a portion of a patient vascular system to facilitate at least one of diagnosis and treatment of said vascular system comprising:

• an imaging device which generates image data;
• a processor, the processor being programmed to perform the steps of:
• acquiring a model of said vascular system based on the image data;
• identifying a portion of interest of said vascular system including determining a central vessel axis;
• generating a foreshortening map of the portion of interest based on viewing angle and imaging system position, with respect to the patient;
• generating an overlap map to determine an amount of overlap for particular viewing angles based on imaging device position;
• generating a feasibility map of viewing angles by modeling dimensions of the imaged patient and the imaging device configuration, and using the foreshortening map and the overlap map;
• and
• automatically generating a composite view including selectively combining the foreshortening map, the overlap map, and the feasibility map;
• a display device which displays at least one of the foreshortening map, the overlap map, the feasibility map, and the composite view.

A method for generating a feasibility map for determining feasibility of possible views of a vascular tree of a patient under study, the method comprising:

• generating patient data with an imaging device;
• modeling patient data correlated with physical characteristics of said patient under study;
• modeling image data identifying a vascular structure of interest in said vascular tree and correlating the vascular structure of interest to said patient data;
• generating a feasibility map by modeling imaging system characteristics correlated to the physical characteristics of the patient under study and to the image data;
• generating a composite view of the vascular structure of interest in accordance with a foreshortening map, an overlap map, and the feasibility map;
• and
• displaying the composite image and the feasibility map on a display device.