An Algorithm for Locating the Aortic Valve and the Apex in Left-Ventricular Angiocardiograms

Efforts to automate the estimation of left-ventricular volume from serial angiocardiograms have neglected the explicit location of the aortic valve line and the ventricle apex. From heuristic considerations of typical aorta-ventricle outlines, an algorithm has been developed to find these key points. The algorithm tracks the turning of the aorta-ventricle outline and uses this information to find the apex and to nominate points for ends of the aortic valve line. The correct valve points maximize an objective function defined on distance measures and the turn information. The algorithm represents a significant step in the direction of completely automated analysis of ventricular angiocardiograms.