A recursive filter for temporal analysis of cardiac motion

A framework for temporal analysis of left ventricular (LV) endocardial wall motion is presented. This approach uses a novel technique of two-dimensional harmonic estimation to model the periodic nature of cardiac motion. A method for flow vector computation is presented which defines a relationship between image-derived, shape-based correspondences and a more desirable, smoothly varying, set of correspondences. A sequential filter is then constructed which takes into consideration this relationship as well as knowledge of temporal trends. Experimental results for contours derived from cycles of actual cardiac magnetic resonance images are presented. Applications to the analysis of regional LV wall function are discussed. >