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Atherosclerosis-related measures in digitized femoral arteriograms
S Nilsson1, I Berglund, U Erikson
1Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Akademiska Sjukhuset, University of Uppsala, Sweden.
Insights
Quantifying atherosclerosis in arteriograms using digital analysis revealed that lumen volume and mean diameter are precise measures for tracking arterial changes. These, along with edge roughness, effectively characterize the atherosclerotic process.
Area of Science:
- Vascular biology
- Medical imaging analysis
- Cardiovascular disease research
Background:
- Atherosclerosis manifests as arterial narrowing and wall irregularities visible in arteriograms.
- Quantifying these changes is crucial for monitoring disease progression and treatment efficacy.
- Digital analysis of arteriograms offers a precise method for assessing atherosclerotic burden.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify atherosclerotic changes in digitized femoral arteriograms.
- To define and evaluate various measures of arterial lumen, diameter, stenosis, and wall irregularity.
- To assess the precision and inter-correlations of these quantitative measures.
Main Methods:
- Digitized femoral arteriograms from 107 hypercholesterolaemic patients were analyzed.
- Ten distinct quantitative measures were defined, focusing on arterial diameter, cross-sectional area, stenosis, and edge irregularity.
- Precision and correlation analyses were performed on the defined measures.
Main Results:
- Lumen volume and mean diameter exhibited the highest precision, suitable for longitudinal studies.
- Mean diameter and the square root of lumen volume showed a correlation >0.99, indicating practical equivalence.
- Measures clustered into two groups: arterial dimensions (diameter, volume) and stenosis/irregularity; strong correlations within groups, weak negative correlations between groups.
Conclusions:
- Lumen volume and mean diameter are highly precise and interchangeable measures for assessing arterial dimensions in atherosclerosis.
- Edge roughness and lumen volume measurements are sufficient to characterize the atherosclerotic process, as other measures provide limited additional information.
- Digital arteriogram analysis provides robust quantitative data for understanding atherosclerosis progression.
Abstract:
Atherosclerosis is reflected in the arteriogram as narrowing of the arterial lumen and irregularity of the arterial wall. We have quantified these changes in digitized femoral arteriograms from 107 hypercholesterolaemic patients and defined 10 different measures concerning arterial diameter, cross-sectional area, stenosis and edge irregularity. We examined the precision of these measures and the correlations between them. Lumen volume and mean diameter for defined arterial segments had the highest precision and may be useful for follow-up studies. The linear correlation between the mean diameter and the square root of the lumen volume was greater than 0.99, so these two measures seem to be equivalent for all practical purposes. The measured variables could be separated into 2 groups: the measures concerning arterial diameter and lumen volume and those concerning edge irregularity and localized stenosis. The measures within each group showed strong positive mutual correlations, while the correlations between measures from different groups were negative and small. It was concluded that if the results of one measure from each group, suitably those of lumen volume and edge roughness, are known, the other described measures will add no further information about the atherosclerotic process.