Published Online
on March 4, 2004

A more recent version of this article appeared on April 1, 2004

This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 35/4/870    most recent 01.STR.0000120728.72958.4Av1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted 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 Kern, R. Articles by Meairs, S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kern, R. Articles by Meairs, S. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Carotid Artery Disease Ultrasound Related Collections Carotid Stenosis Doppler ultrasound, Transcranial Doppler etc.

Submitted on December 17, 2003
Accepted on December 22, 2003

Characterization of Carotid Artery Plaques Using Real-time Compound B-mode Ultrasound

Rolf Kern MD^*; Kristina Szabo MD; Michael Hennerici MD; and Stephen Meairs MD

From the Department of Neurology, Universitätsklinikum Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: kern{at}neuro.ma.uni-heidelberg.de.

Background and Purpose--Real-time compound ultrasound imaging is a new technique for improving the image quality of B-mode scanning. We investigated the value of this method for the characterization of atherosclerotic plaques in the internal carotid artery.

Methods--Thirty-two patients (22 men, 10 women; mean age, 75 years) with plaques of the internal carotid artery as identified by high-resolution B-mode scanning were investigated with real-time compound ultrasound imaging with the use of a 5- to 12-MHz dynamic range linear transducer on a duplex scanner. Two independent observers rated plaque morphology according to a standardized protocol.

Results--The majority of plaques was classified as predominantly echogenic and as plaques of irregular surface, whereas ulcerated plaques were rarely observed. The interobserver agreement for plaque surface characterization was good for both compound ultrasound (=0.72) and conventional B-mode (=0.65). For the determination of plaque echogenicity, the reproducibility of compound ultrasound (_w=0.83) was even higher than that of conventional B-mode ultrasound (_w=0.74). According to a semiquantitative analysis, real-time compound ultrasound was rated superior in the categories plaque texture resolution, plaque surface definition, and vessel wall demarcation. Furthermore, there was a significant reduction of acoustic shadowing and reverberations.

Conclusions--Real-time compound ultrasound is a suitable technique for the characterization of atherosclerotic plaques, showing good general agreement with high-resolution B-mode imaging. This advanced technique allows reduction of ultrasound artifacts and improves the assessment of plaque texture and surface for enhanced evaluation of carotid plaque morphology.

Key words: carotid artery plaque • reproducibility • morphology • ultrasonography

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. Xiong, Y.-B. Deng, Y. Zhu, Y.-N. Liu, and X.-J. Bi Correlation of Carotid Plaque Neovascularization Detected by Using Contrast-enhanced US with Clinical Symptoms Radiology, May 1, 2009; 251(2): 583 - 589. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. B. I. Lobbes, R.-J. J. H. M. Miserus, S. Heeneman, V. Lima Passos, P. H. A. Mutsaers, N. Debernardi, B. Misselwitz, M. Post, M. J. A. P. Daemen, J. M. A. van Engelshoven, et al. Atherosclerosis: Contrast-enhanced MR Imaging of Vessel Wall in Rabbit Model--Comparison of Gadofosveset and Gadopentetate Dimeglumine Radiology, March 1, 2009; 250(3): 682 - 691. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. Vicenzini, M. C. Ricciardi, F. Puccinelli, M. Altieri, N. Vanacore, V. Di Piero, and G. L. Lenzi Sonographic Carotid Plaque Morphologic Characteristics and Vascular Risk Factors: Results From a Population Study J. Ultrasound Med., September 1, 2008; 27(9): 1313 - 1319. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. R. Caplan A 70-Year-Old Man With a Transient Ischemic Attack: Review of Internal Carotid Artery Stenosis JAMA, July 2, 2008; 300(1): 81 - 90. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. M. Kwee, R. J. van Oostenbrugge, L. Hofstra, G. J. Teule, J.M.A. van Engelshoven, W. H. Mess, and M. E. Kooi Identifying vulnerable carotid plaques by noninvasive imaging Neurology, June 10, 2008; 70(24_Part_2): 2401 - 2409. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Alonso, A. Della Martina, M. Stroick, M. Fatar, M. Griebe, S. Pochon, M. Schneider, M. Hennerici, E. Allemann, and S. Meairs Molecular Imaging of Human Thrombus With Novel Abciximab Immunobubbles and Ultrasound Stroke, May 1, 2007; 38(5): 1508 - 1514. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]