Systems and methods for vascular diagnosis using blood flow magnitude and/or direction

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for diagnosing and treatment planning for vascular steal syndromes and retrograde flow. One method includes receiving a reference blood flow direction at a location in a reference vasculature; determining a patient-related blood flow direction at a location in a patient's vasculature corresponding to the location in the reference vasculature; determining a difference in direction, between the reference blood flow direction of the reference vasculature and the patient-related blood flow direction of the patient's vasculature; and generating a representation of the location in the patient's vasculature associated with the difference in direction between the reference blood flow direction and the patient-related blood flow direction, or generating a treatment recommendation for the patient's vasculature based on the difference in direction between the reference blood flow direction and the patient-related blood flow direction.

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A computer-implemented method of determining blood flow deviation in a patient's vasculature, the method comprising:
 receiving a first location and a second location in a reference vasculature;   receiving a first reference blood flow magnitude indicating an amount of blood flow at the first location in the reference vasculature;   receiving a second reference blood flow magnitude indicating an amount of blood flow at the second location in the reference vasculature;   calculating a reference relative blood flow magnitude by comparing the first reference blood flow magnitude to the second reference blood flow magnitude;   receiving a first location and a second location in a patient's vasculature, the first and second locations in the patient's vasculature corresponding to the first and second locations in the reference vasculature, respectively;   determining a first patient-related blood flow magnitude indicating an amount of blood flow at the first location in a patient's vasculature;   determining a second patient-related blood flow magnitude indicating an amount of blood flow at the second location in the patient's vasculature;   determining a patient-related relative blood flow magnitude by comparing the first patient-related blood flow magnitude to the second patient-related blood flow magnitude;   comparing the reference relative blood flow magnitude and the patient-related relative blood flow magnitude; and at least one of:   generating a representation of the patient's vasculature based on the difference between the reference relative blood flow magnitude and the patient-related relative blood flow magnitude, or   generating a treatment recommendation for the patient's vasculature based on the difference between the reference relative blood flow magnitude and the patient-related relative blood flow magnitude.   
     
     
         22 . The computer-implemented method of claim  20 , further comprising:
 receiving a physiological state associated with the patient;   receiving the reference relative blood flow magnitude based on the physiological state; and   determining the patient-related relative blood flow magnitude based on the physiological state.   
     
     
         23 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 receiving a patient-specific anatomic model of the patient's vasculature; and   determining the patient-related relative blood flow magnitude by simulating or estimating blood flow through locations in the patient-specific anatomic model corresponding to the first location in the reference vasculature and the second location in the reference vasculature.   
     
     
         24 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 23 , further comprising:
 determining one or more areas of the patient-specific anatomic model associated with the difference between the reference relative blood flow magnitude and the patient-related relative blood flow magnitude; and   generating the representation based on the one or more areas of the patient-specific anatomic model associated with the difference between the reference relative blood flow magnitude and the patient-related relative blood flow magnitude.   
     
     
         25 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 generating the representation of the patient's vasculature; and   generating the treatment recommendation for the patient's vasculature.   
     
     
         26 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 25 , further comprising:
 determining a second patient-related relative blood flow magnitude from a simulation; and   comparing the reference relative blood flow magnitude to the second patient-related relative blood flow magnitude to determine a difference between the reference relative blood flow magnitude and the second patient-related relative blood flow magnitude.   
     
     
         27 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 26 , further comprising:
 generating the treatment recommendation further based on a comparison of the difference between the reference relative blood flow magnitude and the patient-related relative blood flow magnitude against the difference between the reference relative blood flow magnitude and the second patient-related relative blood flow magnitude.   
     
     
         28 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 26 , wherein the simulation for the second patient-related relative blood flow magnitude includes a vascular geometry different from the geometry of the patient's vasculature or a physiological state different from the physiological state at which the patient-related relative blood flow magnitude is determined. 
     
     
         29 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 25 , wherein the treatment recommendation is for vascular steal syndrome. 
     
     
         30 . A system for determining blood flow deviation in a patient's vasculature, the system comprising:
 a data storage device storing instructions for determining blood flow deviation in a patient's vasculature; and   a processor configured to execute the instructions to perform a method including:
 receiving a first location and a second location in a reference vasculature; 
 receiving a first reference blood flow magnitude indicating an amount of blood flow at the first location in the reference vasculature; 
 receiving a second reference blood flow magnitude indicating an amount of blood flow at the second location in the reference vasculature; 
 calculating a reference relative blood flow magnitude by comparing the first reference blood flow magnitude to the second reference blood flow magnitude; 
 receiving a first location and a second location in a patient's vasculature, the first and second locations in the patient's vasculature corresponding to the first and second locations in the reference vasculature, respectively; 
 determining a first patient-related blood flow magnitude indicating an amount of blood flow at the first location in a patient's vasculature; 
 determining a second patient-related blood flow magnitude indicating an amount of blood flow at the second location in the patient's vasculature; 
 determining a patient-related relative blood flow magnitude by comparing the first patient-related blood flow magnitude to the second patient-related blood flow magnitude; 
 comparing the reference relative blood flow magnitude and the patient-related relative blood flow magnitude; and at least one of: 
 generating a representation of the patient's vasculature based on the difference between the reference relative blood flow magnitude and the patient-related relative blood flow magnitude, or 
 generating a treatment recommendation for the patient's vasculature based on the difference between the reference relative blood flow magnitude and the patient-related relative blood flow magnitude. 
   
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 30 , wherein the system is further configured for:
 receiving a physiological state associated with the patient;   receiving the reference relative blood flow magnitude based on the physiological state; and   determining the patient-related relative blood flow magnitude based on the physiological state.   
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 30 , wherein the system is further configured for:
 receiving a patient-specific anatomic model of the patient's vasculature; and   determining the patient-related relative blood flow magnitude by simulating or estimating blood flow through locations in the patient-specific anatomic model corresponding to the first location in the reference vasculature and the second location in the reference vasculature.   
     
     
         33 . The system of  claim 32 , wherein the system is further configured for:
 determining one or more areas of the patient-specific anatomic model associated with the difference between the reference relative blood flow magnitude and the patient-related relative blood flow magnitude; and   generating the representation based on the one or more areas of the patient-specific anatomic model associated with the difference between the reference relative blood flow magnitude and the patient-related relative blood flow magnitude.   
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 30 , wherein the system is further configured for:
 generating the representation of the patient's vasculature; and   generating the treatment recommendation for the patient's vasculature.   
     
     
         35 . The system of  claim 34 , wherein the system is further configured for:
 determining a second patient-related relative blood flow magnitude from a simulation; and   comparing the reference relative blood flow magnitude to the second patient-related relative blood flow magnitude to determine a difference between the reference relative blood flow magnitude and the second patient-related relative blood flow magnitude.   
     
     
         36 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , wherein the first location is in a first portion of the patient's arterial vasculature and the second location is in a second portion of the patient's arterial vasculature, and
 wherein the sum of the first patient-related blood flow magnitude and the second patient-related blood flow magnitude is the blood flow magnitude at a third location of the patient's arterial vasculature upstream from the first location and the second location of the patient's arterial vasculature.   
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 35 , wherein the simulation for the second patient-related relative blood flow magnitude includes a vascular geometry different from the geometry of the patient's vasculature or a physiological state different from the physiological state at which the patient-related relative blood flow magnitude is determined. 
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 34 , wherein the treatment recommendation is for vascular steal syndrome. 
     
     
         39 . A non-transitory computer readable medium for use on a computer system containing computer-executable programming instructions for performing a method of determining blood flow deviation in a patient's vasculature, the method comprising:
 receiving a first location and a second location in a reference vasculature;   receiving a first reference blood flow magnitude indicating an amount of blood flow at the first location in the reference vasculature;   receiving a second reference blood flow magnitude indicating an amount of blood flow at the second location in the reference vasculature;   calculating a reference relative blood flow magnitude by comparing the first reference blood flow magnitude to the second reference blood flow magnitude;   receiving a first location and a second location in a patient's vasculature, the first and second locations in the patient's vasculature corresponding to the first and second locations in the reference vasculature, respectively;   determining a first patient-related blood flow magnitude indicating an amount of blood flow at the first location in a patient's vasculature;   determining a second patient-related blood flow magnitude indicating an amount of blood flow at the second location in the patient's vasculature;   determining a patient-related relative blood flow magnitude by comparing the first patient-related blood flow magnitude to the second patient-related blood flow magnitude;   comparing the reference relative blood flow magnitude and the patient-related relative blood flow magnitude; and at least one of:   generating a representation of the patient's vasculature based on the difference between the reference relative blood flow magnitude and the patient-related relative blood flow magnitude, or   generating a treatment recommendation for the patient's vasculature based on the difference between the reference relative blood flow magnitude and the patient-related relative blood flow magnitude.   
     
     
         40 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 39 , the method further comprising:
 generating the representation of the patient's vasculature; and   generating the treatment recommendation for the patient's vasculature.