Yanwen Zhu^1,#, Chen Zhao^2,#, Yishuo Xu², Zheyang Wu³, Akiko Maehara⁴, Liang Wang¹, Dirui Zhang², Ming Zeng², Rui Lv⁵, Xiaoya Guo⁶, Mengde Huang¹, Minglong Chen⁷, Gary S. Mintz⁴, Dalin Tang^1,3,*, Haibo Jia², Bo Yu^2,*

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.144, No.2, pp. 1249-1270, 2025, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2025.067039 - 31 August 2025

Abstract Image-based computational models have been used for vulnerable plaque progression and rupture predictions, and good results have been reported. However, mechanisms and predictions for plaque erosion are under-investigated. Patient-specific fluid-structure interaction (FSI) models based on optical coherence tomography (OCT) follow-up data from patients with plaque erosion and who received conservative antithrombotic treatment (using medication, no stenting) to identify risk factors that could be used to predict the treatment outcome. OCT and angiography data were obtained from 10 patients who received conservative antithrombotic treatment. Five participants had worse outcomes (WOG, stenosis severity ≥ 70% at one-year… More > Graphic Abstract

Louyi Jiang^1,#, Sulei Wang^1,#, Jiang Xie¹, Haiya Wang², Wei Shao^3,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.83, No.3, pp. 5445-5460, 2025, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.061759 - 19 May 2025

Abstract Carotid artery plaques represent a major contributor to the morbidity and mortality associated with cerebrovascular disease, and their clinical significance is largely determined by the risk linked to plaque vulnerability. Therefore, classifying plaque risk constitutes one of the most critical tasks in the clinical management of this condition. While classification models derived from individual medical centers have been extensively investigated, these single-center models often fail to generalize well to multi-center data due to variations in ultrasound images caused by differences in physician expertise and equipment. To address this limitation, a Dual-Classifier Label Correction Network model… More >

Mohamed Abdulsalam¹, Jiling Feng^1,*

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.25, No.2, pp. 1-1, 2023, DOI:10.32604/icces.2023.09884

Abstract Atherosclerosis developed in the arterial wall is the major cause of cardiovascular events such as stroke and heart failure. Atherosclerosis, also referred to as arterial plaque can be classified as stable, unstable, and vulnerable plaque. In terms of the features of compositions and structures, atherosclerosis also can be classified as calcified plaque, the plaque with a lipid core, and plaque with a thin fibrous cap. It is expected that the compositions, structures, and mechanical properties of the plaques interrelate with each other. The correlations between the compositions, structure, and mechanical properties are expected to characterize… More >

S. Deivanayagi^1,*, P. S. Periasamy²

Intelligent Automation & Soft Computing, Vol.34, No.1, pp. 639-653, 2022, DOI:10.32604/iasc.2022.025632 - 15 April 2022

Abstract Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains a major reason for increased mortality over the globe, comprising myocardial infarction and ischemic cardiomyopathy. The CAD is highly linked to coronary stenosis owing to the encumbrance of atherosclerotic plaques. Particularly, diversified atherosclerotic plaques are highly responsible for major cardiac adverse events over the calcified and non-calcified plaques. There, the recognition and classification of atherosclerotic plaques play a vital role to prevent and intervene in CAD. The process of detecting various class labels of the atherosclerotic plaques is significant to identify the disease at the earlier stages. Since several automated… More >

Caining Zhang¹, Xiaopeng Guo², Xiaoya Guo³, David Molony⁴, Huaguang Li², Habib Samady⁴, Don P. Giddens^4,5, Lambros Athanasiou⁶, Dalin Tang^1*,7, Rencan Nie^2,*, Jinde Cao⁸

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.123, No.2, pp. 631-646, 2020, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2020.09718 - 01 May 2020

Abstract Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a new intravascular imaging technique with high resolution and could provide accurate morphological infor￾mation for plaques in coronary arteries. However, its segmentation is still com￾monly performed manually by experts which is time-consuming. The aim of this study was to develop automatic techniques to characterize plaque components and quantify plaque cap thickness using 3 machine learning methods including convolutional neural network (CNN) with U-Net architecture, CNN with Fully convolutional DenseNet (FC-DenseNet) architecture and support vector machine (SVM). In vivo OCT and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) images were acquired from two patients at Emory… More >

Peirong Jiang¹, Zhensen Chen², Daniel S. Hippe², Hiroko Watase³, Bin Sun¹, Ruolan Lin¹, Zheting Yang¹, Yunjing Xue^1,*, Xihai Zhao^4,*, Chun Yuan^2,4

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.16, Suppl.2, pp. 34-35, 2019, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2019.07394

Abstract This article has no abstract. More >

Caining Zhang¹, Huaguang Li², Xiaoya Guo³, David Molony⁴, Xiaopeng Guo², Habib Samady⁴, Don P. Giddens^4,5, Lambros Athanasiou⁶, Rencan Nie^2,*, Jinde Cao^3,*, Dalin Tang^1,*,7

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.16, Suppl.2, pp. 31-31, 2019, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2019.06983

Abstract Cardiovascular diseases are closely associated with deteriorating atherosclerotic plaques. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a recently developed intravascular imaging technique with high resolution approximately 10 microns and could provide accurate quantification of coronary plaque morphology. However, tissue segmentation of OCT images in clinic is still mainly performed manually by physicians which is time consuming and subjective. To overcome these limitations, two automatic segmentation methods for intracoronary OCT image based on support vector machine (SVM) and convolutional neural network (CNN) were performed to identify the plaque region and characterize plaque components. In vivo IVUS and OCT… More >

Rui Lv¹, Liang Wang¹, Dalin Tang^1,*,2

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.16, Suppl.2, pp. 27-28, 2019, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2019.06829

Abstract Medical imaging and image-based computational modeling have been used by many researchers in recent years to quantify atherosclerotic plaque morphological and biomechanical characteristics and predict the coronary plaque growth and rupture processes. However, it has been hard to validate model predictions due to imaging resolution limitation, lack of clinical events and plaque rupture data. This article reviews recent advances in coronary plaque research over the past decade, including medical imaging techniques represented by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and optical coherence tomography (OCT), computational modeling and their applications in plaque progression and vulnerability analyses and predictions. The… More >

Liang Wang¹, Haibo Jia², Luping He², Rui Lv¹, Xiaoya Guo³, Chun Yang^4,5, Don P. Giddens^6,7, Habib Samady⁶, Akiko Maehara⁸, Gary S. Mintz⁸, Dalin Tang^1,*,5

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.16, Suppl.2, pp. 23-24, 2019, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2019.07522

Abstract Plaque erosion, one of the primary causes for coronary thrombosis, is responsible for about one third of the patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) [1]. Histological studies characterized the eroded plaque as a plaque with following morphological features: 1) plaque intima having direct contact with intraluminal thrombus due to the absence of endothelium or endothelial injury; 2) without rupture in the fibrous cap; 3) abundance of proteoglycans and smooth muscle cells on the luminal surface under the thrombus [2]. These characteristics has been applied in in vivo diagnosis of plaque erosion using optical coherence tomography… More >

Yahui Zhang¹, Hui Wang^1,2, Zhouming Mai^1,2, Jianhang Du^1,2,3,*, Guifu Wu^1,2,3

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.16, Suppl.1, pp. 85-86, 2019, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2019.05836

Abstract Enhanced external counter pulsation (EECP) is an effective therapy to provide beneficial assistance for the failing heart by reducing cardiac afterload and increasing blood flow perfusion noninvasively. The technique of EECP involves the use of the EECP device to inflate and deflate a series of compression cuffs wrapped around the patient’s calves, lower thighs, and upper thighs. As the result, the enhanced flow perfusion is derived from the device’s propelling blood from veins of lower body to arteries of upper body and increases the blood supply for the important organs and brain. In the ACCF/AHA… More >