A semi-automatic segmentation method for the structural analysis of carotid atherosclerotic plaques by computed tomography angiography
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Hannu Eskola; Atte Joutsen; Florentino Luciano Caetano dos Santos; Mitsugu Terada; Juha Salenius
- Source
- Scopus-Elsevier
- Subject
- Male
medicine.medical_specialty
medicine.medical_treatment
Lumen (anatomy)
Severity of Illness Index
Automation
Internal Medicine
medicine
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Humans
Segmentation
Carotid Stenosis
Computed tomography angiography
Endarterectomy
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
medicine.diagnostic_test
business.industry
Biochemistry (medical)
Percent stenosis
Angiography
Middle Aged
medicine.disease
Semi automatic segmentation
Plaque, Atherosclerotic
Stenosis
Region growing
Female
Radiology
Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
business
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Algorithms
- Language
- ISSN
- 1880-3873
Aim: Computed tomography angiography (CTA) is currently the most reliable imaging technique for evaluating and planning the treatment of atherosclerosis. The drawbacks of the technique are its low spatial resolution and challenging manual measurements. The purpose of this study was to develop a semi-automatic method to segment vessel walls, surrounding tissue, and the carotid artery lumen to measure the severity of stenosis. Methods: In vivo contrast CTA images from eight patients undergoing endarterectomy were analyzed using a tailored five-step process involving an adaptive segmentation algorithm and region growing to measure the maximum percent stenosis in the cross-sectional area of the carotid artery. The accuracy of this method was compared with that of manual measurements made by physicians. Results: There were no significant differences between the maximum percent stenosis value obtained using the semi-automatic tool and that obtained using manual measurements (6%; p=0.31). The data acquisition and analysis required an average of 145 seconds. Conclusion: This new semi-automatic segmentation method for CTA provides a fast and reliable tool to quantify the severity of carotid artery stenosis. J Atheroscler Thromb, 2014; 21:000-000.