Automated computation of cardiac ventricle volume from two-dimensional MRI data

A computer based system is described that has been developed to automatically determine ejection fraction from an automated analysis of two-dimensional, serial slice magnetic resonance image, (MR1) data. Using a General Electric 1.5-T MRI system, twenty images, per-cardiac cycle along with sixteen simultaneous 5-mm anatomical slices were obtained from each patient. Automated algorithms, using frequency histogram based computations, were used to preprocess the raw image data and to enhance the contrast between the blood pool and the myocardium. Contour data, defining the blood pool in the left ventricle, were automatically generated from adjacent, sequential image slices and used to estimate left ventricular volume as a function of time. Results from normal volunteers indicate that this system could provide a useful clinical diagnostic tool for visualizing and quantifying regional left ventricular function