Quantification of Carotid Plaque Histology Using iPlaque Software

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular imaging and pathology

Background:

• Carotid plaque composition is crucial for stroke risk assessment.
• Integrated backscatter (IB) from ultrasound imaging offers insights into tissue characteristics.
• The iPlaque software facilitates IB analysis of carotid plaques.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the correlation between histologic plaque classification and IB values derived from iPlaque software.
• To determine if IB measurements can reflect the American Heart Association (AHA) plaque categories.

Main Methods:

• 49 patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy provided plaque samples.
• iPlaque software analyzed IB values from long-axis ultrasonographic images of whole carotid plaques.
• Histologic analysis of resected plaques followed the AHA classification system.
• Average IB values were statistically compared across AHA plaque categories (V, VI, VII).

Main Results:

• Plaque samples were classified into AHA categories V (13 cases), VI (32 cases), and VII (4 cases).
• Significant differences were observed in both average and standard deviation of IB values among the three plaque classifications (p=0.001).

Conclusions:

• Integrated backscatter (IB) values obtained using iPlaque software are associated with the histologic characteristics of carotid plaques.
• iPlaque-derived IB measurements can potentially differentiate between advanced AHA plaque classifications.