3D Imaging of the Heart

3-D Coronary Imaging

The Massachusetts General Hospital Corrigan Minehan Heart Center provides an advanced 3-D coronary imaging laboratory. This service assists both providers and patients in viewing and understanding conditions of the coronary arteries.

Providers benefit from 3-D coronary imaging technology because it is another tool that makes the diagnosis process even clearer. It also can aid in surgical planning. Patients benefit because they can view their own hearts, which often helps in understanding conditions and taking better control of their next step in the treatment process.

The 3-D coronary imaging service has three major components:

• Image acquisition from an MRI/MRA, CT angiography or coronary computed tomography angiogram (CTA)
• 3-D laboratory post-processing service where staff create 3-D images from MRIs or CTs
• Clinical interpretation service where radiologists and cardiologists use high-end computer workstations to perform the analysis and interpretation of the images