Detection of lumen-intima interface of posterior wall for measurement of elasticity of the human carotid artery

• Published in: IEEE transactions on ultrasonics, ferroelectrics, and frequency control Vol. 51; no. 1; pp. 93 - 108
• Main Authors: Hasegawa, H., Kanai, H., Koiwa, Y.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY IEEE 01-01-2004; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Acoustical measurements and instrumentation; Acoustics; Adult; Algorithms; Biological and medical sciences; Blood pressure; Blood vessels; Boundaries; Carotid arteries; Carotid Arteries - diagnostic imaging; Carotid Arteries - physiology; Cost function; Displacement; Displacement measurement; Elasticity; Exact sciences and technology; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Heart beat; Human; Humans; Image Enhancement - methods; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted - methods; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Male; Mean square errors; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous. Technology; Models, Biological; Movement - physiology; Pattern Recognition, Automated; Phase measurement; Physics; Real time; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; Strain measurement; Thickness measurement; Tunica Intima - diagnostic imaging; Tunica Intima - physiology; Ultrasonic investigative techniques; Ultrasonography, Doppler, Pulsed - methods; Elastic constant; Human; Elastic modulus; Acoustic measurement; Deformation modulus; Carotid; Atherosclerosis; Non invasive method; Circulatory system; Vascular wall; Elastography; Artery
• ISSN: 0885-3010; 1525-8955
• DOI: 10.1109/TUFFC.2004.1268471

In our series of studies on noninvasive assessment of the regional elasticity of the arterial wall, the displacement gradient (change in thickness) of the arterial wall caused by the heartbeat was measured by the phased tracking method. Because the displacement gradient corresponds to the strain due to the change in blood pressure, the elasticity can be evaluated from the displacement gradient of the arterial wall and the blood pressure, which are noninvasively measured at the upper arm. In the measurement of the elasticity of the arterial wall by our method, the region in which the elastic modulus is estimated must be assigned beforehand; currently, the lumen-intima boundary of the arterial wall is manually determined by the operator. For the real-time measurement of the elasticity of the arterial wall, a fast, automated method is necessary for detection of the boundary. In this paper, a cost function is proposed for differentiation of the arterial wall from the lumen. The proposed cost function was applied to ultrasound data, which were noninvasively obtained for five human carotid arteries. In comparison with the case of detection using only the amplitude of the echo, the root mean square error between the automatically detected lumen-intima boundary and the manually assigned boundary was significantly improved by using the proposed cost function. Furthermore, the lumen- intima boundary was automatically detected in a short period. Such a method is required for real-time measurement of the elasticity of the arterial wall, though detection of the outer boundary of the adventitia, which is not described in this paper, is also necessary to realize real-time elasticity measurement by our method.