Automated segmental-IMT measurement in thin/thick plaque with bulb presence in carotid ultrasound from multiple scanners: Stroke risk assessment

摘要

Background and objectives: Standardization of the carotid IMT requires a reference marker in ultrasound scans. It has been shown previously that manual reference marker and manually created carotid segments are used for measuring IMT in these segments. Manual methods are tedious, time consuming, subjective, and prone to errors. Bulb edge can be considered as a reference marker for measurements of the cIMT. However, bulb edge can be difficult to locate in ultrasound scans due to: (a) low signal to noise ratio in the bulb region as compared to common carotid artery region; (b) uncertainty of bulb location in craniocaudal direction; and (c) variability in carotid bulb shape and size. This paper presents an automated system (a class of AtheroEdge (TM) system from AtheroPoint (TM), Roseville, CA, USA) for locating the bulb edge as a reference marker and further develop segmental-IMT (sIMT) which measures IMT in 10 mm segments (namely: sl, s2 and s3) proximal to the bulb edge.