Mediated spatiotemporal fusion of multiple cardiac magnetic resonance datasets for patient-specific perfusion analysis

Patient-specific correlation of perfusion defects and coronary arteries responsible for blood supply in the affected territories has the potential to improve accuracy of diagnosis and intervention planning, but cardiac cycle phase difference between perfusion and angiography datasets precludes the use of standard methods of 2D/3D registration. This paper presents a work-flow for mediated spatiotemporal registration of perfusion series and angiography volumes; the solution of the registration problem relies on the use of the 4D wall motion series as a mediator for non-rigid registration of perfusion and angiography datasets. The work-flow assumes the availability of the localised/segmented main coronary arteries in the angiography dataset. Results of evaluation on clinical data show the utility of the method in perfusion analysis while highlighting its potential applicability to other areas of cardiac image analysis.