Method and system for automatic analysis of blood vessel structures to identify calcium or soft plaque pathologies

摘要

A method of identifying a calcium and/or a soft plaque deposit in a blood vessel using imaging data of the blood vessel is provided. A first threshold is applied to a slice of three-dimensional imaging data of a blood vessel to define voxels above the first threshold. A maximum intensity of the blood vessel is identified from the defined voxels. A distance from the identified maximum intensity to a center of the blood vessel is calculated and is compared with a distance threshold. If the calculated distance is greater than the distance threshold, a calcium deposit is identified. A second threshold is applied to the slice to define voxels below the second threshold. If a calcium deposit is identified or if the defined voxels below the threshold have a half-moon shape, a soft plaque deposit is identified.