Friedman M H, Ding Z
Biomedical Engineering Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus 43210, USA.
Med Eng Phys. 1998 Sep;20(6):469-72. doi: 10.1016/s1350-4533(98)00039-3.
The susceptibility of vascular branches to atherosclerosis is believed to be due in part to the unusual fluid dynamic environments that the vessel wall experiences in these regions. As vascular geometry is a primary determinant of the local haemodynamic environment, it is of interest to quantitate the geometric features of vascular branches and their variability. The present research focusses on branch planarity, using axial magnetic resonance images of the aortic bifurcations of 20 healthy subjects. The in vivo images were processed to obtain vector representations of the vessel axes at the bifurcation, from which the planarity of the bifurcation was derived using a novel robust definition. Three-dimensional reconstructions of the bifurcations were rendered using computer graphics techniques to demonstrate the variability of the planarity of this region of the vasculature; this variability might be related to variable predispositions to atherosclerosis at the aortic bifurcation.
血管分支对动脉粥样硬化的易感性被认为部分归因于血管壁在这些区域所经历的异常流体动力学环境。由于血管几何形状是局部血流动力学环境的主要决定因素，因此对血管分支的几何特征及其变异性进行量化很有意义。本研究聚焦于分支平面性，使用了20名健康受试者主动脉分叉处的轴向磁共振图像。对活体图像进行处理，以获得分叉处血管轴的矢量表示，据此使用一种新颖的稳健定义得出分叉处的平面性。利用计算机图形技术对分叉处进行三维重建，以展示该血管区域平面性的变异性；这种变异性可能与主动脉分叉处动脉粥样硬化的易感性差异有关。
