Hepatic tumor enhancement in computed tomography: combined models of liver perfusion and dynamic imaging

The objective of this study is to show how computational modeling can be used to increase our understanding of liver enhancement in dynamic computer tomography. It relies on two models: (1) a vascular model, based on physiological rules, is used to generate the 3D hepatic vascular network; (2) the physical process of CT acquisition allows to synthesize timed-stamped series of images, aimed at tracking the propagation of a contrast material through the vessel network and the parenchyma. The coupled models are used to simulate the enhancement of a hyper-vascular tumor at different acquisition times, showing a maximum conspicuity during the arterial phase.