Estimation of coronary artery dimensions using stack filtering approach

In this paper a stack filtering approach is used to develop a new computer based algorithm for the evaluation of the severity of the coronary artery obstruction from a single-view angiogram. Stack filters have proven to be very effective at enhancing and restoring images. The primary reason for their success is that they can suppress noise without destroying important image details such as edges and lines. These features are exploited to optimize the estimation of coronary vessel dimensions. The proposed algorithm consists of four stages: image enhancement, path line detection, edge detection, and dimension estimation. The algorithm is tested on real coronary angiograms. The algorithm performance is excellent with respect to existing methods.