[A new computed tomography method for quantitative analysis of abdominal aortic atherosclerosis]

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Imaging
• Radiology
• Medical Diagnostics

Background:

• Aortic atherosclerosis is commonly evaluated using visual analysis of calcification on radiographs or CT scans.
• Visual assessment can be imprecise for quantifying calcification severity or detecting subtle age-related changes.
• There is a need for more objective and quantitative methods to assess abdominal aortic atherosclerosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate a novel quantitative method for evaluating abdominal aortic atherosclerosis using CT.
• To establish an atherosclerotic index (S.I.) based on CT values for objective assessment.
• To analyze the relationship between the S.I., age, and sex.

Main Methods:

• Abdominal aortic CT scans were acquired at specific lumbar vertebral levels.
• Two regions of interest (ROIs) were defined along the inner and outer margins of the aortic wall.
• Histograms of CT values were generated from ROIs, and an atherosclerotic index (S.I.) was calculated using a specific formula involving CT values and aortic diameter.

Main Results:

• The study analyzed 39 cases after excluding 6 due to artifacts.
• The atherosclerotic index (S.I.) demonstrated a positive correlation with aging.
• The S.I. was generally higher in men than women, but showed a more rapid increase with age in women (8.68/year) compared to men (2.73/year).

Conclusions:

• The newly developed quantitative CT method provides an objective measure of abdominal aortic atherosclerosis.
• The atherosclerotic index (S.I.) effectively reflects age-related changes and sex-specific differences in atherosclerosis progression.
• This quantitative approach offers advantages over traditional visual analysis for evaluating aortic calcification.