A 3D Hermite-based multiscale local active contour method with elliptical shape constraints for segmentation of cardiac MR and CT volumes.

Analysis of cardiac images is a fundamental task to diagnose heart problems. Left ventricle (LV) is one of the most important heart structures used for cardiac evaluation. In this work, we propose a novel 3D hierarchical multiscale segmentation method based on a local active contour (AC) model and the Hermite transform (HT) for LV analysis in cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) and computed tomography (CT) volumes in short axis view.

Segmentation and optical flow estimation in cardiac CT sequences based on a spatiotemporal PDM with a correction scheme and the Hermite transform.

Purpose: The left ventricle and the myocardium are two of the most important parts of the heart used for cardiac evaluation. In this work a novel framework that combines two methods to isolate and display functional characteristics of the heart using sequences of cardiac computed tomography (CT) is proposed. A shape extraction method, which includes a new segmentation correction scheme, is performed jointly with a motion estimation approach.

Software phantom for the synthesis of equilibrium radionuclide ventriculography images.

This paper presents the novel design of a software phantom for the evaluation of equilibrium radionuclide ventriculography systems. Through singular value decomposition, the data matrix corresponding to an equilibrium image series is decomposed into both spatial and temporal fundamental components that can be parametrized. This parametric model allows for the application of user-controlled conditions related to a desired dynamic behavior.

[Optimizing resources in nuclear cardiology].

Myocardial perfusion SPECT imaging (MPI) provides substantial diagnostic and prognostic information in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that the application of MPI results is a cost-effective modification of patient management. Several studies have demonstrated that a chest pain center (CPC) using MPI significantly reduce the number of patients hospitalized from the emergency department for further evaluation of chest pain, and restricted hospitalization to more appropriate patients.