BACKGROUND:
Extracranial carotid artery atherosclerosis is a major preventable cause of strokes, the second most common cause of death in developed countries. The degree of arterial lumen stenosis is the basis for surgical indications, but does not provide information about other plaque aspects. Studies in the literature suggest that the morphological characteristics of the plaque and its composition should also be included in the assessment of this disease.
OBJECTIVE:
Investigate the correlation between atherosclerotic plaque composition defined by computer-assisted analysis of ultrasound images (virtual histology - USVH) and conventional histology.
METHOD:
The images of twelve plaques, obtained during preoperative ultrasound scanning, were analyzed by computer, and the grey scale images were correlated with the plaque components and subsequently compared with the histological findings of the analysis of the endarterectomy specimens.
RESULTS:
The amount of lipids and fibromuscular tissue were strongly correlated in the two tests (R=0.83 and 0.91). There were no significant correlations with amount of blood or calcium (R=0.05 and 0.19).
CONCLUSION:
This study confirmed the usefulness of noninvasive USVH. Further technical improvements and software developments may promote the clinical application of this method.
atherosclerosis; carotid; ultrasound; histology
