An integrated automated analysis method for quantifying vessel stenosis and plaque burden from carotid MRI images: combined postprocessing of MRA and vessel wall MR.

Abstract

We report the evaluation of a semiautomated method for in vivo assessment of the severity of carotid atherosclerosis with minimal user interaction that combines 3-dimensional contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CE-MRA) and vessel wall magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Lumen and outer-wall contours were automatically detected, and stenosis and plaque burden were estimated. The method was tested on 22 subjects (352 postcontrast, T1-weighted cross sections and 3-dimensional CE-MRA). We observed good correlation with expert contours: lumen and outer-wall area (r=0.96) and the degree of stenosis (r=0.97). The fusion of MRA and MRI reduces user interaction and improves contour detection, providing reproducible parameters to assess the severity of atherosclerosis.