Shape and Enhancement Analysis as a Useful Tool for the Presentation of Blood Hemodynamic Properties in the Area of Aortic Dissection

J Clin Med. 2020 May 2;9(5):1330. doi: 10.3390/jcm9051330.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to create a mathematical approach for blood hemodynamic description with the use of brightness analysis. Medical data was collected from three male patients aged from 45 to 65 years with acute type IIIb aortic dissection that started proximal to the left subclavian artery and involved the renal arteries. For the recognition of wall dissection areas Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) data were applied. The distance from descending aorta to the diaphragm was analyzed. Each time Feret (DF) and Hydraulic (DHy) diameter were calculated. Moreover, an average brightness (BAV) was analyzed. Finally, to describe blood hemodynamic in the area of aortic wall dissection, mathematical function combining difference in brightness value and diameter for each computed tomography (CT) scan was calculated. The results indicated that DF described common duct more accurately compare to DHy. While, DHy described more accurately true and false ducts. Each time when connection of true and false duct appeared, true duct had lower brightness compare to common duct and false duct. Moreover, false duct characterized with higher brightness compare to common duct. In summary, the proposed algorithm mimics changes in brightness value for patients with acute type IIIb aortic dissection.

Keywords: aortic dissection; brightness analysis; enhancement analysis; image processing.