This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Aly, S. Articles by Bishop, C. C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Aly, S. Articles by Bishop, C. C. Related Collections Doppler ultrasound, Transcranial Doppler etc.

(Stroke. 2000;31:1921.)
© 2000 American Heart Association, Inc.

Original Contributions

An Objective Characterization of Atherosclerotic Lesion

An Alternative Method to Identify Unstable Plaque

Sayed Aly, PhD, FRCS Christopher C. Bishop, MCh, FRCS

From the Department of Surgery, University College London Hospitals, London, UK.

Correspondence to Mr S. Aly, Vascular Research Fellow, Department of Surgery, University College London Hospitals, Mortimer St, London W1N 8AA, UK.

Background and Purpose—The aim of this study was to evaluate a computer-assisted technique to characterize atherosclerotic plaque.

Methods—In 9 subjects (7 men, 2 women; mean age 33 years), known anatomic areas (carotid, fat, muscle, iliotibial tract, and tibia) were scanned with an Acuson duplex ultrasound machine with 72 machine settings. The ultrasound images of these anatomic areas were recorded on magneto-optical disks. Echo amplitude statistics were obtained, and the mean pixel value (MPV) was used to assess the level of echogenicity. The ideal settings of this particular scanner for optimal discrimination between these tissues types were identified by the Heuristic Index of Discrimination. With these settings, carotid artery scanning was performed on 17 patients (15 men, 2 women; mean age 65 years), and the image analysis of their ultrasound carotid plaques was compared with their histological findings.

Results—In this study, discrimination between the selected tissues was found to be optimal when the controls were set at log 40 dB, 0/2/0, and gain of -5 dB. The MPV of the carotid specimens scanned at this setting correlated significantly with the histological findings (Spearman correlation, P=0.002).

Conclusions—Computer-assisted image analysis to give the MPV is a technique that may be used to identify unstable atherosclerotic plaques reliably.

Key Words: atherosclerosis • image processing, computer assisted

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J.K. Lovett, J.N.E. Redgrave, and P.M. Rothwell A Critical Appraisal of the Performance, Reporting, and Interpretation of Studies Comparing Carotid Plaque Imaging With Histology Stroke, May 1, 2005; 36(5): 1085 - 1091. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Golemati, T. J. Tegos, A. Sassano, K. S. Nikita, and A. N. Nicolaides Echogenicity of B-mode Sonographic Images of the Carotid Artery: Work in Progress J. Ultrasound Med., May 1, 2004; 23(5): 659 - 669. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Ohyama, K. Mizushige, T. Takahashi, N. Hosomi, and M. Kohno Plaque Rupture on the Carotid Artery Observed by Doppler Ultrasonography: A Case Report Angiology, December 1, 2001; 52(12): 867 - 869. [Abstract] [PDF]

				T. J. Tegos, K. J. Kalomiris, M. M. Sabetai, E. Kalodiki, and A. N. Nicolaides Significance of Sonographic Tissue and Surface Characteristics of Carotid Plaques AJNR Am. J. Neuroradiol., September 1, 2001; 22(8): 1605 - 1612. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Yuan, L. M. Mitsumori, K. W. Beach, and K. R. Maravilla Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaque: Noninvasive MR Characterization and Identification of Vulnerable Lesions Radiology, November 1, 2001; 221(2): 285 - 299. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]