Development of interactive 3D imaging system for hepatic angiography

Egypt is witnessing over the next decade many challenges in the field of healthcare, especially with regard to the spread of hepatitis and coincides with the spread of liver hepatocellular carcinoma. Because most cases of liver cancer in Egypt are detected in very late stages, the use of surgical resection, liver transplantation and percutaneous ablative therapies constitutes unsuitable therapeutic options either due to high recurrence rate or unfeasibility. Therapy sessions can be made through the introduction of chemotherapy using a catheter directly into the hepatic artery supplying the tumor guided by angiography imaging system. This method of treatment known to prevent the patient from different problems associated with surgical treatment, but it is still needs to be further improved to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks. Hepatic angiography is an x-ray study of the blood vessels that supply the liver. The procedure uses a catheter that is placed into a blood vessel through a small incision. The catheter is guided using the x-ray images obtained through the interventional session. During angiography, hepatic arterial supply is usually displayed in one, two or three projections. Mental 3D interpretation of the anatomy is not an easy task. Reaching the target supply artery by the catheter tip is mandatory to obtain satisfactory tumor response and reduce complications and recurrence. This work aims to develop an interactive 3D imaging system of hepatic angiography. The developed system uses a set of 2D images measured over few view angles to reconstruct a full 3D volume of the hepatic arteries. The problem can be thought as a combination of three main approaches. (1) Image reconstruction of 3D artery volume from few number of projections (each is presented as 2D image), (2) automatic detection of the catheter roadmap to the labeled artery which feed the tumor, and (3) interactive system to control and display images using simple gestures of the physician.