Three-dimensional and quantitative analysis of atherosclerotic plaque composition by automated differential echogenicity.

Objective: To validate automated and quantitative three-dimensional analysis of coronary plaque composition using intracoronary ultrasound (ICUS).

Background: ICUS displays different tissue components based on their acoustic properties in 256 grey-levels. We hypothesised that computer-assisted image analysis (differential echogenicity) would permit automated quantification of several tissue components in atherosclerotic plaques.