Patent ID: 7289841

Claim:
An apparatus for performing a diagnostic cardiac imaging session of a patient's heart, the apparatus comprising: a monitor imaging means for monitor imaging a limited portion of the heart during influx of a contrast agent using a low patient x-ray exposure condition; a means for computing a contrast agent density corresponding to each monitor image for a region of interest; a means for computing and monitoring a time derivative of the contrast agent density based on temporally successive monitor images to detect a selected time derivative of the contrast agent density; a volume imaging means for volume imaging the heart to obtain volumetric imaging data, the volume imaging being initiated by a trigger that is based detection of the selected time derivative; a cardiac cycle recording means for recording cardiac cycle data during at least a portion of the imaging operations; and a volumetric reconstructing means for high resolution reconstructing at least a portion of the volumetric imaging data to produce high resolution image representations of at least a portion of the heart.