Ultrasound Elastography for Biomedical Applications and Medicine

12 Vascular and Intravascular Elastography

Marvin M. Doyley

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA

12.1 Introduction

Strokes and heart attacks, which cause more deaths than all cancers combined [1], can occur when a life‐threatening plaque ruptures in either the carotid or coronary arteries [2–4]. Conventional imaging techniques can visualize the carotid artery [5], but they cannot detect life‐threatening plaques. For example, vascular angiography can assess the extent of stenosis, but the extent of stenosis is a poor indicator of a cerebrovascular event: composition – not stenosis – is the key determinant as to whether plaque will rupture [6]. Multi‐slice computed tomography (CT) can visualize the carotid atherosclerosis [7], but like angiography, it cannot characterize plaque composition. High‐resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can characterize plaque composition [8], but MRI is expensive and inflexible, traits that make it an inappropriate screening tool. Ultrasound (US) is relatively inexpensive and more flexible than MRI. Furthermore, ultrasound can assess the extent of stenosis and characterize plaque burden [9, 10], but it cannot characterize plaque composition [11]. Vascular elastography is an emerging ultrasound imaging technique that visualizes the mechanical properties of vascular tissues. In this chapter, we will discuss the general principles ...