Elasticity Imaging with Intravascular Ultrasound



Background

Intravascular ultrasound is a widely used method of imaging the coronary arteries in patients with atherosclerotic disease to determine the efficacy of, and candidacy for, Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty (PCTA). Using IVUS to image deformations while a PTCA balloon pushes on coronary arteries or atherosclerotic plaques, strain and elasticity images can be generated to determine mechanical properties of these tissues. Imaging the mechanical properties of thrombosis, plaques and the arterial wall can aid in characterizing and understanding the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease.

Of particular interest are atherosclerotic plaques vulnerable to rupture. Since plaque rupture is the leading cause of myocardial infarctions and strokes, this is a rapidly growing area of research. By characterizing the mechanical properties of atherosclerotic plaques the mechanics of rupture can be better understood. With greater insights into the mechanical properties of plaques, therapies and treatments could be developed to stabilize coronary plaques.


Movies

  • Hard/Soft Phantom
  • Thrombus
  • Calcified Human Plaques
  • Plaque Rupture


    Figures

  • Strain Images
  • Plaque Rupture & Balloon Catheters


    Conference Presentations/Abstracts

  • "Strain Imaging of Vascular Pathologies Using a Compliant Balloon Catheter" IEEE Ultrasonics Symposium, 2000.
  • "Elasticity Imaging to Monitor Plaque Rupture" Ultrasonic Imaging and Tissue Characterization, 1999.
  • "Reconstructive Ultrasound Elasticity Imaging of Coronary Artery Using Catheter Arrays" BMES Conference, 1998.
  • "Catheter Arrays: Can Intravascular Ultrasound Make a Difference in Managing Coronary Artery Disease?" IEEE UFFC Ultrasonics Symposium, 1997
  • "Strain Imaging of Coronary Arteries with Intraluminal Ultrasound: Preliminary Experimental Results" IEEE UFFC Ultrasonics Symposium, 1996
  • "Ultrasonic Displacement and Strain Imaging of Coronary Arteries with a Catheter Array" IEEE UFFC Ultrasonics Symposium, 1995
  • "Synthetic Phased Array Imaging of Coronary Arteries with an Intraluminal Array" IEEE UFFC Ultrasonics Symposium, 1995
  • "Elasticity Imaging of Coronary Arteries with Catheter Transducer Arrays" BMES Conference, 1994
  • "Catheter Phased Arrays for Mechanical Imaging of Coronary Arteries" BMES Conference, 1991
  • "Phased Array Beam Forming from a Circular Array: Applications to Imaging of Coronary Arteries" IEEE UFFC Ultrasonics Symposium, 1991


    Journal Articles

  • "Strain Imaging of Coronary Arteries with Intraluminal Ultrasound: Experiments on an Inhomogeneous Phantom" Ultrasonic Imaging, 1996
  • "Displacement and Strain Imaging of Coronary Arteries with Intraluminal Ultrasound" IEEE Trans. in UFFC, 1996


    Related Plaque Rupture articles

  • Rekhter M. D., Hicks G. W., Brammer D. W., Work C. W., Kim J., Gordon D., Keiser J. A., and Ryan M. J. "Animal Model That Mimics Atherosclerotic Plaque Rupture," Circulation Research, 83, pp. 705-713 (1998).
  • Rekhter M. D., Hicks G. W., Brammer D. W., Hallak H., Kindt E., Chen J., Rosebury W. S., Anderson M. K., Kuipers, P. J. and Ryan M. J. "Hypercholesterolemia Causes Mechanical Weakening of Rabbit Atheroma: Local Collagen Loss as a Prerequisite of Plaque Rupture," Circulation Research, 86, pp. 101-108 (2000).
  • Galis, Z. S. "Atheroma Morphology and Mechanical Strength: Looks are Important, After All- Lose the Fat [editorial]," Circulation Research, 86, pp. 1-3 (2000).



    Old B-scan Movies




    Slides from UFFC 1996 Presentation




    Correspondence:

    Link to: http://bul.eecs.umich.edu/research/ivus/ivus_elas/
    Last modified by: cdchoi@umich.edu