A transputer based three-dimensional dynamic cardiac imaging system

Phys Med Biol. 1993 Apr;38(4):491-501. doi: 10.1088/0031-9155/38/4/001.

Abstract

In Aberdeen, a single-section transverse emission scanner has been adapted to trigger off patient ECG signals, allowing for the acquisition of gated blood pool tomograms at a number of slice levels through the patient's heart. This paper describes a system for the routine generation and display of surface rendered images derived from this data using a transputer based hardware system. Surface rendering algorithms have been implemented to provide an indication of the distribution of the cardiac blood pool in three dimensions, whilst the additional use of colour and/or cine sequences provide a succinct method of representing the extra information provided by gated acquisition. The transputer provides sufficient computing power to produce rendered views at a rate of about 1 frame per second, thus putting view selection fully under operator control. The success of the system described is reflected in its routine use in a busy clinical department.

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms*
  • Gated Blood-Pool Imaging / instrumentation
  • Gated Blood-Pool Imaging / methods*
  • Humans
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / methods*