The diagnostic iter of patent foramen ovale in migraine patients: an update.

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a frequent finding in migraine patients. The standard technique for PFO diagnosis is actually trans-oesophageal echocardiography (TEE). It requires the injection of a contrast agent unable to pass the pulmonary filter; hence, it is possible to detect a right-to-left shunt by observing the presence of the contrast medium in the cardiac left compartment.

Accurate and automatic carotid plaque characterization in contrast enhanced 2-d ultrasound images.

The carotid plaques characterization is essential to decide about the possibility of surgical intervention (endarterectomy/stenting) on the patient. Soft and unstable plaques represent a major risk for the patient, as they are correlated with an augmented probability of brain infarction and emboli generation. Hence, the minimally-invasive characterization especially of this type of carotid plaques is crucial in clinical practice.

User-independent plaque characterization and accurate IMT measurement of carotid artery wall using ultrasound.

Non-invasive plaque characterization of the carotid wall is crucial for the early assessment of pathology, as well as for the monitoring of the progression of a degenerative phenomenon. Specifically, in clinical practice the carotid wall status is assessed by means of B-Mode ultrasound scans. We recently implemented an algorithm for the segmentation of the common tract of the carotid wall using ultrasound relative to healthy subjects.

CULEX-completely user-independent layers extraction: ultrasonic carotid artery images segmentation.

The analysis of the carotid wall is of paramount importance in clinical practice. In fact, the intima-media thickness is a risk index for some of the most severe acute cerebrovascular pathologies; hence, the need for an accurate segmentation of the different layers of the carotid artery. In the past ten years, a wide variety of algorithms for the carotid tunica segmentation have been proposed, but they require a certain degree of user interaction.