Visualization of coronary stenosis plotted on nuclear polar images

The combination of quantitative coronary analysis and flow reserve measurements enables the clinician to determine whether a coronary artery stenosis is significant and therefore has to be treated. To get information on cardiac perfusion, 2-D MIBI SPECT polar diagrams are regarded. However, no real 3-D comparison between the anatomical coronary angiography data and the perfusion information can be made. In this feasibility study a first approach is made to create fusion images in 3-D of angiograms and SPECT data. From biplane CAGs, both left and right coronary arteries of three patients have been reconstructed as 3-D models. The reconstruction output was automatically converted into VRML scenes. The 2-D polar SPECT data were mapped onto a half-ellipsoid and added to the VRML scene. Registration of the three models was performed interactively using VRML and common Internet browsers.