Image registration for the investigation of atherosclerotic plaque movement

Abstract

Permanent or transient neurological deficit can be caused by emboli originating from complicated atherosclerotic plaque located in the common carotid artery. Complication of atherosclerosis involves intraplaque hemorrhage, ulceration of the plaque surface and release of emboli from the plaque core. More recently plaque mobility has been observed in ultrasound studies of the carotid bifurcation. This has been cited as a possible contributor to complication of atherosclerosis. Measurement of plaque mobility in ultrasound studies is made difficult by the presence of global movements of the arteries themselves. Image registration has been applied to sequences of images from ultrasound studies. Each image in the sequence can be registered with the first image of the sequence and the suppression of global movements can be achieved. This suppression of global movement should make precise measurement of plaque mobility possible.