Temporal interpolation of low frame rate digital subtraction angiograms

Typical digital subtraction angiography (DSA) acquisition rates are often inadequate for visualizing and analyzing fast-moving flow patterns. Therefore, an interpolation method that captures the angiographic flow pattern was developed. The temporal change of gray value in each pixel along a blood vessel records the flow movement at that location. Thus, temporal interpolation was performed on a pixel-by-pixel basis. To generate each interpolated image, a polynomial interpolation was applied to six sequential images. To validate the interpolation technique, a flow phantom was imaged with a high acquisition frame rate, and interpolation was done in a lower frame rate and compared to the acquired data. The interpolated images were also compared to results from linear interpolation and cubic spline interpolation. Clinical utility was illustrated on DSA images of cerebral vasculature with aneurysms. Image sequences of 60 frame/s were generated from DSA images acquired at 7.5 frame/s. The results showed improved flow pattern visualization, especially flow head locations in blood vessels. This interpolation method has also been applied to dynamic 3D reconstruction from biplane DSA projections. In this application, the method was used to offset temporal discrepancies between biplane projection pairs and contrast injections, making dynamic 3D reconstruction possible.