A semi-automatic method for the extraction of the portal venous input function in quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced CT of the liver.

Objective: To aid the extraction of the portal venous input function (PVIF) from axial dynamic contrast-enhanced CT images of the liver, eliminating the need for full manual outlining of the vessel across time points.

Methods: A cohort of 20 patients undergoing perfusion CT imaging of the liver was examined. Dynamic images of the liver were reformatted into contiguous thin slices.