Open Access

ARTICLE

Stress-Based Plaque Vulnerability Index and Assessment for Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaques Using Patient-Specific Vessel Material Properties

Qingyu Wang¹, Dalin Tang^1,2,*, Gador Canton³, Zheyang Wu², Thomas S. Hatsukami⁴, Kristen L. Billiar⁵, Chun Yuan⁶

1 School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 201196, China.
2 Mathematical Sciences Department, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA 01609, USA.
3 Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
4 Division of Vascular Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
5 Biomedical Engineering Department, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA 01609, USA.
6 Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.

* Corresponding Author: Dalin Tang. Email: .

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics 2018, 15(4), 189-201. https://doi.org/10.32604/mcb.2018.04572

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases are closely linked to atherosclerotic plaque development and rupture. Assessment of plaque vulnerability is of fundamental significance to cardiovascular research and disease diagnosis, prevention, treatment and management. Magnetic resonance image (MRI) data of carotid atherosclerotic plaques from 8 patients (5 male, 3 female; age: 62-83, mean=71) were acquired at the University of Washington (UW), Seattle by the Vascular Imaging Laboratory (VIL) with written informed consent obtained. Patient-specific vessel material properties were quantified using Cine MRI data for modeling use. 3D thin-layer models were used to obtain plaque stress and strain for plaque assessment. A stress-based plaque vulnerability index (SPVI) was proposed to combine mechanical analysis, plaque morphology and composition for more complete carotid plaque vulnerability assessment. The five intervals (unit: kPa) [0, 46.8), [46.8, 80), [80, 92), [92, 103), and [103, +∞) from in vivo material models were used for SPVI values of 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. The optimized agreement rate was 85.19%. The use of patient-specific material properties in plaque models could potentially improve the accuracy of model stress/strain calculations. SPVI has the potential to improve the current image-based screening and plaque vulnerability assessment schemes.

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