Angiography is the established imaging technique for coronary imaging. Angiography is routinely used during all coronary diagnostic and interventional procedures.

QCA
Quantitative Coronary Analysis (QCA) is a technique that provides objective and reproducible measurements of coronary artery dimensions. QCA is particularly useful for assessing the vessel lumen size, (re)occurrence of a (re-) stenosis after coronary interventions, the evaluation of mechanical interventional devices (e.g. stents) and the long-term progression and regression of coronary atherosclerosis¹.

Bifurcation Analysis
Cardialysis holds a new approach to bifurcation analysis. As an addition to the conventional QCA analysis, a coronary bifurcation can be analysed as a single object, including the central bifurcation area together with the angulation of the bifurcation. The entire bifurcation segment can be divided in a 6-segment or in a 11-segment bifurcation model². Besides a 2D QCA software package our Core Lab is also applying 3D QCA. Out-of-plane magnification and foreshortening errors are minimized by calculating true geometric shape in 3D space from two or more 2D x-ray projections. QCA 3D offers improved analysis of difficult lesions and segment anatomy.

Qualitative (visual) assessment
The Cardialysis Angiography Core Laboratory has extensive experience in qualitative assessment of angiograms. The visual assessment of an angiogram may involve the analysis of morphological parameters, the coronary anatomy, coronary lesions, the filling of coronary arteries, the cardiac function, and the evaluation of the result of an intervention according to pre-set definitions.

Syntax Score
The Syntax Score is an angiographic tool to grade the complexity of coronary artery disease. The syntax score can be used to prospectively characterise the entire coronary tree with respect to the number of lesions and their functional impact, location and complexity³.

Angiography Left Ventricular analysis
Left Ventricular analysis is the contour detection of the diastolic and systolic left ventricle. The difference between the diastolic and systolic state is expressed as the percentage of the ejection fraction of the left ventricle. Using software with automatic contour detection, the left ventriculograms will be analysed to assess global and regional left ventricular function, volume calculation and wall motion analysis during e.g. the procedural and follow-up studies.

Quantitative Vessel Analysis (QVA)
Quantitative Vessel Analysis is an invasive imaging technique used to assess vascular disease in the peripheral arteries, such as the aorta, carotid, iliac, renal, femoral, and popliteal arteries. QVA is particularly useful for assessing the vessel lumen size, occurrence of a (re)stenosis after vessel interventions, the evaluation of mechanical interventional devices (e.g. stents) and the long-term progression and regression of atherosclerosis.

Literature References
1. Serruys PW, Foley DP, de Feyter PJ, eds. Quantitative coronary angiography in clinical practice. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer Academic, 1994
2. Ramcharitar S, Onuma Y, Aben JP, Consten C, Weijers B, Morel MA, Serruys PW. A novel dedicated quantitative coronary analysis methodology for bifurcation lesions. EuroInterv.2008;3:553-557
3. Georgios Sianos, Marie-Angèle Morel, Arie Pieter Kappetein, Marie-Claude Morice, Antonio Colombo,Keith Dawkins, Marcel van den Brand, Nic Van Dyck, Mary E Russell, Friedrich W. Mohr, Patrick W Serruys. The SYNTAX Score: an angiographic tool grading the complexity of coronary artery disease EuroIntervention 2005; 1: 219-227