Region based perfusion estimation in peripherals using C-arm systems: A simulation study

In this paper we evaluate a method for region based perfusion estimation in peripherals using angiographic C-arm systems. The method is based on X-ray angiography acquired from a fixed viewing position and on a segmentation of the object in regions derived from two rotational soft tissue scans. The 2D blood flow information contained in the angiography is mapped to the 3D segmented regions by optimization of an inverse problem providing region averaged quantitative perfusion. The accuracy of the method is assessed in a simulation study using a CT perfusion acquisition as input data. Results show that the method is suitable for average perfusion estimation, however when trying to resolve finer perfused structures by increasing the number of segmented regions, higher estimation errors are introduced in solving the inverse problem.