A non-invasive study of alterations of the carotid artery with age using ultrasound images.

A region-based method for measurement of arterial diameter to find out the elasticity of the vessel is proposed in this paper. Arterial segments are studied by using images obtained through ultrasound scanning in B-mode. Pulsatile changes of the common carotid artery during diastole and systole are computed. To achieve this, thinned segmentation is done by suitably adjusting the contrast of the image. The diameter changes of the artery wall from the centre of artery are calculated. Fifty-three normal subjects with age group 20-40 years are taken for measurement. Measured diameter is plotted as a graph and pulsatile changes of the artery are obtained. Since no atherosclerotic lesions are detected in the studied subjects, it is suggested that the common carotid artery is a highly compliant artery with a strong alteration of viscoelastic properties with age.