Patent ID: 9737276
Date: 2017-08-22
CPC Classifications: A61B,F04C,G06T

Claim:
1. A method for determining a functional significance of coronary artery stenosis comprising: obtaining image data from an imaging scan of the patient using a non-transitory computer readable medium; displaying the image data; obtaining a patient specific transluminal attenuation gradient (TAG) for the coronary artery of the patient from the image data and calculating a partial volume averaging correction factor to correct TAG values that result due to partial volume effects; determining an arterial input function from the imaging data, wherein the arterial input function is defined as a time variation of a contrast agent at a predetermined location in the coronary artery of the patient; transforming the displayed image data into a visual representation of the arterial input function using the non-transitory computer readable medium and correcting the displayed image for the partial volume effects; determining the coronary luminal area and distance along the artery of interest from the imaging data; calculating the coronary flow velocity (CFV) and flow rate within the coronary artery from an algorithm wherein terms of the algorithm are TAG, the arterial input function, the coronary luminal area and distance along the artery; transforming the displayed visual representation of the arterial input function into a visual representation of the CFV using the non-transitory computer readable medium; calculating an estimate of a pressure gradient (PG) within the coronary artery, from the coronary flow velocity, the arterial input function, information on the coronary luminal area, and position and location within the artery; transforming the displayed visual representation of the arterial input function into a visual representation of the PG using the non-transitory computer readable medium; and determining the functional significance of the coronary artery stenosis from the estimate of the PG.