Computer videodensitometry of digital subtraction angiography for measurement of the cardiac volume.

In order to clarify an accuracy of densitometrically measured cardiac volume from the DSA image, experimental phantom study and clinical left ventriculography were performed. Good linear correlations were observed between volumes measured by videodensitometry of the DSA image and the real volumes of the phantoms in the experimental study and between left ventricular volumes determined by videodensitometry with DSA and measured by an area-length method in the clinical study, unless the obtained density was too high to get saturated or too low to be miss-counted. Therefore, adequate gain setting of the instrument and use of proper concentration of the contrast medium appeared to be essential in determining heart chamber volumes using DSA densitometry.