Background: Several studies have found that the ultrasound greyscale median (GSM) of carotid artery plaques may be useful for predicting the risk of cerebrovascular events. However, measurements of GSM are typically performed on still ultrasound images ignoring any variations that may be observed on a frame-by-frame basis. The aim of this study was to establish the existence and investigate the nature and extent of these variations.
Methods: Employing a novel method that enabled plaque boundaries to be tracked semi-automatically, variations in the plaque GSM and observed cross-sectional area were measured for 27 carotid artery plaques (19 consecutive patients, stenosis range 10%-80%) over image sequences of up to 10 seconds in length acquired with a mean frame rate of 32 frames per second.
Results: Our results showed a mean inter-frame coefficient of variation (CV) of 5.2% (s.d. 2.5%) for GSM and 4.2% (s.d. 2.9%) for the plaque area. Thirteen of the 27 plaques (48%) exhibited CV in GSM greater than 5% whereas only six plaques (22%) had CV in plaque area of greater than 5%. There was no significant correlation between the CV of GSM and plaque area.
Conclusions: Inter-frame variations in the plaque GSM such as those found in this study have implications on the reproducibility of GSM measurements and their clinical utility. Studies assessing the GSM of carotid artery plaques should consider these variations.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1476-7120-11-21 | DOI Listing |
Medicine (Baltimore)
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Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Eskisehir Osmangazi University Medical Faculty, Eskişehir, Türkiye.
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View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnimal Model Exp Med
January 2025
Department of Neurology, Tianjin Neurological Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.
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View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeurol Int
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Stroke Unit, Department of Neurology, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary.
Acute retinal ischemia, including central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO), is recognized as a stroke equivalent by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA), necessitating immediate multidisciplinary evaluation and management. However, referral patterns among ophthalmologists remain inconsistent, and evidence-based therapeutic interventions to improve visual outcomes are currently lacking. CRAO is associated with a significantly elevated risk of subsequent acute ischemic stroke (AIS), particularly within the first week following diagnosis, yet the role of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) in this setting remains controversial.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBioengineering (Basel)
January 2025
School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
The haptic fidelity of biomimetic materials used in the design of procedural task trainers is of growing interest to the medical community. Shore hardness has been proposed as a method for assessing tissue biomechanics and replicating the results as a way to increase the fidelity of biomimetics to tissues. However, there is limited research on the reliability of human tissue measurements using Shore scales.
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