OBJECTIVE: Increased arterial stiffness and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) are considered independent predictors of cardiovascular events. The aim of this study was to compare a system recently developed in our laboratory for automatic assessment of these parameters from ultrasound image sequences to a reference radio frequency (RF) echo-tracking system. METHODS: Common carotid artery scans of 21 patients with cardiovascular risk factors and 12 healthy volunteers were analyzed by both devices for the assessment of diameter (D), IMT, and distension (DeltaD). In the healthy volunteers, analyses were repeated twice to evaluate intraobserver variability. Agreement was evaluated by Bland-Altman analysis, whereas reproducibility was expressed as a coefficient of variation (CV). RESULTS: Regarding the agreement between the two systems, bias values +/- SD were 0.060 +/- 0.110 mm for D, -0.006 +/- 0.039 mm for IMT, and -0.016 +/- 0.039 mm for DeltaD. Intraobserver CVs were 2% +/- 2% for D, 5% +/- 5% for IMT, and 6% +/- 6% for DeltaD with the RF echo-tracking system and 2% +/- 1% for D, 6% +/- 6% for IMT, and 8% +/- 6% for DeltaD with our automated system. CONCLUSIONS: Although B-mode-based devices are less precise than RF-based ones, our automated system has good agreement with the reference method and comparable reproducibility, at least when high-quality images are analyzed. Hence, this study suggests that the presented system based on image processing from standard ultrasound scans is a suitable device for measuring IMT and local arterial stiffness parameters in clinical studies.
OBJECTIVE: Increased arterial stiffness and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) are considered independent predictors of cardiovascular events. The aim of this study was to compare a system recently developed in our laboratory for automatic assessment of these parameters from ultrasound image sequences to a reference radio frequency (RF) echo-tracking system. METHODS: Common carotid artery scans of 21 patients with cardiovascular risk factors and 12 healthy volunteers were analyzed by both devices for the assessment of diameter (D), IMT, and distension (DeltaD). In the healthy volunteers, analyses were repeated twice to evaluate intraobserver variability. Agreement was evaluated by Bland-Altman analysis, whereas reproducibility was expressed as a coefficient of variation (CV). RESULTS: Regarding the agreement between the two systems, bias values +/- SD were 0.060 +/- 0.110 mm for D, -0.006 +/- 0.039 mm for IMT, and -0.016 +/- 0.039 mm for DeltaD. Intraobserver CVs were 2% +/- 2% for D, 5% +/- 5% for IMT, and 6% +/- 6% for DeltaD with the RF echo-tracking system and 2% +/- 1% for D, 6% +/- 6% for IMT, and 8% +/- 6% for DeltaD with our automated system. CONCLUSIONS: Although B-mode-based devices are less precise than RF-based ones, our automated system has good agreement with the reference method and comparable reproducibility, at least when high-quality images are analyzed. Hence, this study suggests that the presented system based on image processing from standard ultrasound scans is a suitable device for measuring IMT and local arterial stiffness parameters in clinical studies.
Authors: Harald M Stauss; Kevin R Rarick; Katie M Leick; Jason W Burkle; Diane L Rotella; Michael G Anderson Journal: Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol Date: 2011-03-09 Impact factor: 3.619
Authors: Nicole Di Lascio; Rosa Maria Bruno; Francesco Stea; Elisabetta Bianchini; Vincenzo Gemignani; Lorenzo Ghiadoni; Francesco Faita Journal: Eur J Appl Physiol Date: 2014-04-12 Impact factor: 3.078
Authors: Anoop K Patel; Harman S Suri; Jaskaran Singh; Dinesh Kumar; Shoaib Shafique; Andrew Nicolaides; Sanjay K Jain; Luca Saba; Ajay Gupta; John R Laird; Argiris Giannopoulos; Jasjit S Suri Journal: Curr Atheroscler Rep Date: 2016-12 Impact factor: 5.113
Authors: Marco M Ciccone; Pietro Scicchitano; Annapaola Zito; Luciano Agati; Michele Gesualdo; Sandro Mandolesi; Rosa Carbonara; Francesco Ciciarello; Francesco Fedele Journal: Cardiovasc Ultrasound Date: 2011-11-16 Impact factor: 2.062