Automated quantification of blood flow velocity from time-resolved CT angiography

Abstract

Contrast-enhanced computed tomography angiography (CE-CTA) provides valuable, non-invasive assessment of lower extremity peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The advent of wide beam CT scanners has enabled multiple CT acquisitions over the same structure at a high frame rate, facilitating time-resolved CTA acquisitions. In this study, we investigate the technical feasibility of automatically quantifying the bolus arrival time and blood velocity in the arteries below the knee from time-resolved CTA. Our approach is based on arterial segmentation and local estimation of the bolus arrival time. The results are compared to values obtained through manual reading of the datasets and show good agreement. Based on a small patient study, we explore initial utility of these quantitative measures for the diagnosis of lower extremity PAD.