Background: There is no post-processing technique that can display an overview image of the lumen and vessel wall of a whole heart in one image. A merging coronary lumen view (Angiographic View) with a plaque image can provide a single, comprehensive image of plaque distribution.
Methods and results: A color-coded plaque image is assigned to different computed tomography attenuation ranges in the coronary artery to visualize plaques. This plaque image is re-formatted into a maximum intensity projection image and loaded onto the Angiographic View image.
Conclusions: The integrated image of the coronary lumen and vessel wall of a whole heart is feasible. This image (Plaque-loaded Angiographic View) will give effective information in explaining the distribution of coronary lesions in patients as well as providing opportunities to discuss treatment strategies.