Interframe Echo Intensity Variation of Subregions and Whole Plaque in Two-Dimensional Carotid Ultrasonography: Simulations and In Vivo Observations.
atherosclerosis
carotid artery
intensity variability
intra-plaque variability
plaque
ultrasound imaging
Journal
Journal of ultrasound in medicine : official journal of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
ISSN: 1550-9613
Titre abrégé: J Ultrasound Med
Pays: England
ID NLM: 8211547
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
May 2023
May 2023
Historique:
revised:
26
09
2022
received:
19
04
2022
accepted:
02
10
2022
medline:
17
4
2023
pubmed:
21
10
2022
entrez:
20
10
2022
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
The risk of cardiovascular disease is associated with the echo intensity of carotid plaques in ultrasound images and their cardiac cycle-induced intensity variations. In this study, we aimed to 1) explore the underlying origin of echo intensity variations by using simulations and 2) evaluate the association between the two-dimensional (2D) spatial distribution of these echo intensity variations and plaque vulnerability. First, we analyzed how out-of-plane motion and compression of simulated scattering spheres of different sizes affect the ultrasound echo intensity. Next, we propose a method to analyze the features of the 2D spatial distribution of interframe plaque echo intensity in carotid ultrasound image sequences and explore their associations with plaque vulnerability in experimental data. The simulations showed that the magnitude of echo intensity changes was similar for both the out-of-plane motion and compression, but for scattering objects smaller than 1 mm radius, the out-of-plane motion dominated. In experimental data, maps of the 2D spatial distribution of the echo intensity variations had a low correlation with standard B-mode echo intensity distribution, indicating complementary information on plaque tissue composition. In addition, we found the existence of ∼1 mm diameter subregions with pronounced echo intensity variations associated with plaque vulnerability. The results indicate that out-of-plane motion contributes to intra-plaque regions of high echo intensity variation. The 2D echo intensity variation maps may provide complementary information for assessing plaque composition and vulnerability. Further studies are needed to verify this method's role in identifying vulnerable plaques and predicting cardiovascular disease risk.
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
1033-1046Subventions
Organisme : Swedish Västerbottens County Council Spjutspetsmedel
ID : VLL-581211
Organisme : Vetenskapsrådet
ID : 2015-04461
Organisme : Heart Foundation of Northern Sweden
Informations de copyright
© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.
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