A Practical Protocol to Measure Common Carotid Artery Intima-media Thickness

Abstract

OBJECTIVETo describe and test a practical protocol to measure common carotid intima-media thickness that uses the combined values of two longitudinal examination angles to increase sensitivity.METHODBetween February and September 2005, 206 patients underwent duplex scan examination of carotid vessels, and the intima-media thickness of 407 common carotids were measured in three angles: transversal, longitudinal posterolateral, and anterolateral, with three intima-media thickness measurements for each near and far wall. In addition to numbers obtained from the three angles of measurement, a fourth visual perspective was obtained by combining the intima-media thickness results of posterolateral and anterolateral longitudinal views and considering the thickest wall measurement.RESULTSTwo hundred seventy (66.3%) carotid arteries had an intima-media thickness thicker than 1mm. The mean intima-media thickness values achieved by the different incidences were 1.26±0.6mm (transversal), 1.17±0.54mm (longitudinal anterolateral), and 1.18±0.58mm (longitudinal posterolateral). A significant difference in intima-media thickness measurement values was observed when the three angles of examination plus the combined positive results of both longitudinal angles were compared by ANOVA (P=0.005). The LSD Post-Hoc test determined that the combined longitudinal view results were similar to the transversal views (P=0.28) and had greater intima-media thickness means than isolated anterolateral or posterolateral longitudinal views (P=0.02 and 0.05, respectively).CONCLUSIONSThe protocol presented is a practical method for obtaining common carotid artery intima-media thickness measurements. The combined longitudinal posterolateral and anterolateral longitudinal views provide a more sensitive evaluation of the inner layers of the carotid walls than isolated longitudinal views.

Metabolic Syndrome and Carotid Artery Parameter in Koreans Aged 50 Years and Older

“…16 Abnormal CCA-IMT was defined as CCA-IMT ≥1.00 mm. 17, 18 The reader also assessed the presence of carotid plaques, defined as focal structures that encroached into the lumen by at least 100% of the surrounding IMT value. The presence of carotid plaques was determined from the scans of all carotid artery segments (common, bulb, and internal carotid artery).…”

Periodontal disease and atherosclerosis

“…27 Since ultrasound is a more accessible and less expensive method, it has become the preferred method for screening and monitoring of AD. 28 Color Doppler ultrasonography is a noninvasive examination that can aid in detection of the morphological changes that occur when arteries are exposed to the factors that predispose to atherosclerosis, in addition to identifying abnormalities that are pathological per se, such as atherosclerotic plaques, calcifications, thromboses and aneurysms. 28 Ultrasound is generated by a transducer made from crystals (ceramic or piezoelectric) that creates oscillatory mechanical waves with frequencies varying from 2 to 17 mHz.…”

“…28 Color Doppler ultrasonography is a noninvasive examination that can aid in detection of the morphological changes that occur when arteries are exposed to the factors that predispose to atherosclerosis, in addition to identifying abnormalities that are pathological per se, such as atherosclerotic plaques, calcifications, thromboses and aneurysms. 28 Ultrasound is generated by a transducer made from crystals (ceramic or piezoelectric) that creates oscillatory mechanical waves with frequencies varying from 2 to 17 mHz. There is a hardware component that sends preprogrammed information to the crystals under the control of specially developed software.…”

Towards an Optimal Interest Point Detector for Measurements in Ultrasound Images

“…All images were taken by specialists with five year experience with scanning of arteries. Images were captured in accordance to the standard protocol [33] with patients lying in the supine position and with the neck rotated to the left side while the right CCA was examined. The database can be downloaded from the SPLab web page 1 .…”