Generation of Synthetic 4D Cardiac CT Images by Deformation from Cardiac Ultrasound

Abstract

In this paper we introduce a method of generating a synthetic 4D cardiac CT dataset using a single (static) CT and 4D ultrasound images. The method performs non-rigid registrations among ultrasound images to obtain deformation fields of patient specific heart motion and applies the deformation fields onto a static CT image to deform it into a series of dynamic CT images. It is the ultimate aim that this novel synthetic CT dataset could be used to generate high spatiotemporal resolution 4D cardiac models for the intra-operative guidance of minimally invasive cardiac intervention. Validations were performed by comparing synthetic CT images to real dynamic CT images.