Evaluation of carotid intima media thickness measurement from ultrasound images
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 7, 2025
A Methodological Approach to Non-invasive Assessments of Vascular Function and Morphology
Published on: February 7, 2015
B Smitha1, Dhanraj Yadav2, Paul K Joseph2
1Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, NSS College of Engineering, Palakkad, Kerala, 678008, India. bsmithas@gmail.com.
Insights
Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of death. This study introduces a modified greedy snake algorithm to accurately measure intima-media thickness in ultrasound images, aiding stroke risk prediction.
Area of Science:
- Medical imaging
- Cardiovascular disease research
- Biomedical engineering
Background:
- Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) cause a third of global deaths.
- Atherosclerosis, characterized by plaque buildup in arteries, is a primary cause of myocardial infarction and increases stroke risk.
- Accurate measurement of carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) is crucial for predicting stroke risk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a modified greedy snake segmentation algorithm for accurate extraction of the intima-media complex from ultrasound images.
- To assess the performance of the modified algorithm in measuring IMT and compare it with expert measurements.
Main Methods:
- A modified greedy snake segmentation technique incorporating stopping criteria and active resampling was developed.
- The algorithm was used to segment and extract the intima-media complex in ultrasound images, forming a contour of the region of interest.
- Intra-observer error and thickness measurements were calculated and compared to expert assessments.
Main Results:
- The modified greedy snake algorithm accurately segmented and extracted the intima-media complex.
- Intra-observer error values were low (0.10 for manual, 0.09 for automatic initialization).
- Statistical analysis (Shapiro-Wilk, ANOVA) showed no significant difference between the algorithm's measurements and expert measurements, indicating high conformity.
Conclusions:
- The modified greedy snake segmentation technique provides accurate and reliable measurements of intima-media thickness.
- This method is a valuable tool for assessing stroke risk by enabling precise IMT quantification.
- The algorithm's performance is comparable to expert measurements, suggesting its clinical utility.
Abstract:
A third of deaths in the world are due to cardiovascular diseases [1]. Atherosclerosis is the major cause of myocardial infarction, which occurs by deposition of plaque in the coronary artery. The chance of stroke rises with the thickening of carotid artery due to the plaque. Hence, accurate measurement of the intima-media thickness is necessary for predicting the chance of stroke. The stopping criterion and active resampling are incorporated in greedy snake segmentation technique. This modified algorithm segmented and extracted the intima-media complex in the ultrasound images. The snake control points obtained from the boundary of the region of interest forms the contour and demarcates the boundary of intima-media complex. The thickness ± standard deviation and the intra-observer error values obtained by modified algorithm are in conformity with the measurements by expert. The intra-observer error values for greedy snake segmentation methods were 0.10 and 0.09 for manual snake initialization and automatic snake initialization, respectively. Shapiro-Wilk test and One-way ANOVA test explains there is no statistical difference between group means obtained from these segmentation techniques and the expert measurement. The statistical analysis proves values of the intima-media thickness obtained from both snake segmentation techniques are very close to expert measurements.
