Planning an implantation of a cardiac implant

A medical imaging system for planning an implantation of a cardiac implant, comprising:

• an interface configured to receive a plurality of three-dimensional (3D) cardiac images showing different conditions of a heart during a cardiac cycle;
• a processor in communication with the interface, wherein the processor is programmed to:
• receive, via the interface, the plurality of 3D cardiac images;
• segment within the plurality of 3D cardiac images a target implant region and a locally adjacent region that could interfere with the cardiac implant, wherein the target implant region is a part of a right ventricular outflow tract and the locally adjacent region is a part of a tricuspid valve;
• simulate the implantation of the cardiac implant within the target implant region in at least two of the plurality of 3D cardiac images;
• evaluate an overlap of the simulated cardiac implant with the segmented locally adjacent region in at least two of the plurality of 3D cardiac images;
• determine in each of the plurality of 3D cardiac images the overlap at a plurality of different spatial locations along a longitudinal axis (z) along which the target implant region substantially extends as a function of a depth of the cardiac implant;
• and
• provide feedback information, via a feedback unit, to a user indicative of the overlap evaluated.

A method for planning an implantation of a cardiac implant, comprising the steps of:

• receiving a plurality of three-dimensional (3D) cardiac images showing different conditions of a heart during a cardiac cycle;
• segmenting within the plurality of 3D cardiac images a target implant region and a locally adjacent region that could interfere with the cardiac implant, wherein the target implant region is a part of a left ventricular outflow tract and the locally adjacent region is a part of a mitral valve;
• simulating the implantation of the cardiac implant within the target implant region in at least two of the plurality of 3D cardiac images;
• evaluating an overlap of the simulated cardiac implant with the segmented locally adjacent region in at least two of the plurality of 3D cardiac images;
• determining for each of the plurality of 3D cardiac images a maximum overlap along a longitudinal axis (z) along which the target implant region substantially extends as a function of a depth of the cardiac implant by comparing the overlaps in the 3D cardiac images with each other;
• and
• providing feedback information to a user concerning the evaluated overlap.

A method for planning an implantation of a cardiac implant, comprising the steps of:

• receiving a plurality of three-dimensional (3D) cardiac images showing different conditions of a heart during a cardiac cycle;
• segmenting within the plurality of 3D cardiac images a target implant region and a locally adjacent region that could interfere with the cardiac implant, wherein the target implant region is a part of a right ventricular outflow tract and the locally adjacent region is a part of a tricuspid valve;
• simulating the implantation of the cardiac implant within the target implant region in at least two of the plurality of 3D cardiac images;
• evaluating an overlap of the simulated cardiac implant with the segmented locally adjacent region in at least two of the plurality of 3D cardiac images;
• determining for each of the plurality of 3D cardiac images a maximum overlap along a longitudinal axis (z) along which the target implant region substantially extends as a function of a depth of the cardiac implant by comparing the overlaps in the 3D cardiac images with each other;
• and
• providing feedback information to a user concerning the evaluated overlap.

A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with program code, which when executed by a processor, enable the processor to:

• receive a plurality of three-dimensional (3D) cardiac images showing different conditions of a heart during a cardiac cycle;
• segment within the plurality of 3D cardiac images a target implant region and a locally adjacent region that could interfere with the cardiac implant;
• simulate the implantation of the cardiac implant within the target implant region in at least two of the plurality of 3D cardiac images;
• evaluate an overlap of the simulated cardiac implant along a longitudinal axis (z) along which the cardiac implant substantially extends into the segmented locally adjacent region as a function of a depth of the cardiac implant in at least two of the plurality of 3D cardiac images;
• and
• provide feedback information to a user concerning the evaluated overlap.