COMPUTER STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL OF CORONARY TREES.
Coronary cineangiography is a routine procedure in the authors' hospital for evaluation of the coronary circulation. From the biplane cineangiograms one obtains a visual representation of coronary perfusion. In addition the three-dimensional structure of the coronary tree is available as well as the pattern of movement of segments of the tree. Except for some relatively rare ambiguous situations, a three-space representation of a segment of the coronary tree is obtainable which can be analyzed for its time-dependent geometric properties. The amount of data reduction necessary for segment-length studies is considerable. The collection and interpretation of whole arterial trees is formidable indeed. This paper describes a collection of simple ideas and procedures to aid in the collection and analysis of coronary arterial trees. The uses to which the tree data will be put include the evaluation of myocardial function alluded to above, and the formation of a library sufficiently large to enable some taxonomic classification of coronary artery patterns to be made.