From CTA to 3D modelling: A computational framework for morphometrical assessment and biomechanical analysis of atherosclerotic carotid arteries

Background: Ischemic stroke is a major cause of death worldwide. Atherosclerosis in the carotid arteries is an established predictor of these events. Ideally, patient-specific prevention plans can be developed that target advanced plaque development prior to events. Morphometry of advanced calcified plaque phenotypes can be assessed through...

3D Carotid Artery Flow Imaging Using Compressive Sensing with a Spatial Coding Mask: A Simulation Study

It has been previously demonstrated that applying an aberrating mask for 2D compressive imaging using a low number of sensors (elements) can significantly improve image resolution, as evaluated via the point spread function. Here we investigate the potential to apply a similar approach for 3D flow monitoring. We conducted a 3D k-Wave simulation...

A Tiled Ultrasound Matrix Transducer for Volumetric Imaging of the Carotid Artery

High frame rate three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound imaging would offer excellent possibilities for the accurate assessment of carotid artery diseases. This calls for a matrix transducer with a large aperture and a vast number of elements. Such a matrix transducer should be interfaced with an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) for...

Compressive Imaging with Spatial Coding Masks on Low Number of Elements: An Emulation Study

We intend to develop an ultrasound compressive imaging device to perform carotid artery (CA) function and flow monitoring/imaging by using just a few single element transducers equipped with spatial coding masks. The spatially unique impulse responses can be exploited in compressive reconstructions. To explore the potential of different...

Morphological Subtypes of Intracranial Internal Carotid Artery Arteriosclerosis and the Risk of Stroke

Background: Accumulating evidence highlights the existence of distinct morphological subtypes of intracranial carotid arteriosclerosis. So far, little is known on the prevalence of these subtypes and subsequent stroke risk in the general population. We determined the prevalence of morphological subtypes of intracranial arteriosclerosis and...

Morphometric and Mechanical Analyses of Calcifications and Fibrous Plaque Tissue in Carotid Arteries for Plaque Rupture Risk Assessment

Objective: Atherosclerotic plaque rupture in carotid arteries is a major source of cerebrovascular events. Calcifications are highly prevalent in carotid plaques, but their role in plaque rupture remains poorly understood. This work studied the morphometric features of calcifications in carotid plaques and their effect on the stress...

Imaging of inflammatory cellular protagonists in human atherosclerosis: a dual-isotope SPECT approach

Purpose: Atherosclerotic plaque development and progression signifies a complex inflammatory disease mediated by a multitude of proinflammatory leukocyte subsets. Using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) coupled with computed tomography (CT), this study tested a new dual-isotope acquisition protocol to assess each radiotracer...

Segmenting and Detecting Carotid Plaque Components in MRI

Cardiovascular diseases and stroke are currently the leading causes of death worldwide. Atherosclerotic plaque is a mostly asymptotic vascular disease, but rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque in the carotid artery could lead to stroke. Automated segmentation of plaque components could help improve risk assessment by producing fast and reliable...

Determinants of carotid atherosclerotic plaque burden in a stroke-free population

Background and aims In a large stroke-free population, we sought to identify cardiovascular risk factors and carotid plaque components associated with carotid plaque burden, lumen volume and stenosis. Methods The carotid arteries of 1562 stroke-free participants from The Rotterdam Study were imaged on a 1.5-Tesla MRI scanner. Inner and outer...

Quantitative MRI of the carotid artery: Simultaneous T1 and T2 mapping on complex image data using maximum likelihood parameter estimation

Carotid atherosclerotic plaque rupture is a major cause in ischemic strokes. The luminal narrowing caused by the growing of the plaque has been commonly used for identification of plaque rupture risk. However, there have been signs that plaque composition is also important in the identification of plaque rupture risk. Quantitative Magnetic...

High-definition imaging of carotid artery wall dynamics

The carotid artery (CA) is central to cardiovascular research, because of the clinical relevance of CA plaques as culprits of stroke and the accessibility of the CA for cardiovascular screening. The viscoelastic state of this artery, essential for clinical evaluation, can be assessed by observing arterial deformation in response to the...

Multispectral MRI centerline tracking in carotid arteries

We propose a minimum cost path approach to track the centerlines of the internal and external carotid arteries in multispectral MR data. User interaction is limited to the annotation of three seed points. The cost image is based on both a measure of vessel medialness and lumen intensity similarity in two MRA image sequences: Black Blood MRA and...

Computational Simulations of Magnetic Particle Capture in Arterial Flows

The aim of Magnetic Drug Targeting (MDT) is to concentrate drugs, attached to magnetic particles, in a specific part of the human body by applying a magnetic field. Computational simulations are performed of blood flow and magnetic particle motion in a left coronary artery and a carotid artery, using the properties of presently available...