ABSTRACT
Because of the oblique orientation of the cardiovascular structures in the chest, cardiovascular imaging depends on acquisition or reconstructions of defined standard image planes oblique to the body axes. The image processing techniques most often used are 2-D multiplanar reformation (MPR) and maximum intensity projection (MIP), 3-D shaded surface display (SSD) and volume rendering (VR), and 4-D volume rendering. Because CT systems acquire data in the axial plane, these images have the highest spatial resolution. The strength of volumetric 3-D CT imaging is that image processing allows reformation in unlimited planes not specified at the time of data acquisition. VR techniques employ advanced 3-D image processing algorithms with semitransparent visualization of superficial and deep contours.
