Image processing

The nuclear medical methods developed over the last ten years for cardiological diagnosis are especially suited to evaluating the functional performance of the left ventricle, and myocardial perfusion. Computed tomography and subtraction angiography are two other, non-invasive radiological methods for examining the size and topography of the cavities of the heart, and echocardiography has meanwhile taken the first position in the diagnosis of morphological heart disease. Fourier analysis and the Fourier tansformation technique allow acquisition, recording and evaluation of quantitative data of the radionuclide ventriculography. Due to the weak spatial resolution of the scintigraphic phase analysis, the next logical development was to apply Fourier analysis to the cine-ventriculography, which unfortunately requires considerable computing efforts and time. A solution has now been found that combines the two image processing systems and thus creates the basis for applying the Fourier analysis to all the diagnostic imaging methods, such as echocardiography, radiography, and nuclear medical methods. (orig.)