ECG-gated ICUS image acquisition combined with a semi-automated contour detection provides accurate analysis of vessel dimensions

At present most systems used for three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction's of two-dimensional intracoronary ultrasound (ICUS) images are based on an image acquisition with a pull-back device which withdraws the catheter with a constant speed, not taking account of cardiac motion and coronary dynamics/pulsation. Cyclic changes of the vessel dimensions and the movement of the catheter inside the vessel result in artifacts and inaccuracies of quantitative analysis. Furthermore, most systems in use for this kind of analysis applications store the ICUS image data on video tape for off-line analysis, which results in quality loss. To overcome these limitations and to achieve a rapid on-line analysis without quality loss resulting from unnecessary A/D-conversions, ECG-gated acquisition and direct digitisation of ICUS images was performed on-line.