Work

Shear wave elastography plaque characterization with mechanical testing validation: a phantom study

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: Determining plaque vulnerability is critical when selecting the most suitable treatment for patients with atherosclerotic plaque. Currently, clinical non-invasive ultrasound-based methods for plaque characterization are limited to visual assessment of plaque morphology and new quantitative methods are needed. In this study, shear wave elastography (SWE) was used to characterize hard and soft plaque mimicking inclusions in six common carotid artery phantoms by using phase velocity analysis in static and dynamic environments. The results were validated with mechanical tensile testing. In the static environment, SWE measured a mean shear modulus of 5.8 ± 0.3 kPa and 106.2 ± 17.2 kPa versus 3.3 ± 0.5 Pa and 98.3 ± 3.4 kPa measured by mechanical testing in the soft and hard plaques respectively. Furthermore, it was possible to measure the plaques' shear moduli throughout a simulated cardiac cycle. The results show good agreement between SWE and mechanical testing and indicate the possibility for in vivo arterial plaque characterization using SWE.

Source: Physics in Medicine and Biology

DOI: 10.1088/0031-9155/60/8/3151

Authors: E Widman, E Maksuti, D Larsson, M W Urban, A Bjällmark, M Larsson

Institutions: Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Mayo Clinic

Language: English

Topic: Ultrasound Imaging and Elastography

Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,325