Noninvasive evaluation of the carotid plaque characteristics based on regional strain measurement using two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging

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There has been no established method to measure distensibility of a specific area of medium-sized artery wall. We attempted to measure segmental strain of the carotid artery wall using ultrasonic 2-dimensional speckle tracking method and investigate the relationship to the local atherosclerotic lesions. Two-hundred carotid arteries of 100 patients with ischemic cerebrovascular disease were studied and the far wall of the common carotid artery in long-axis B-mode image was divided into 5 segments. In each segment, the longitudinal and radial peak strain and intima-media thickness (IMT) were measured. Strain measurements were possible in 885 of the 1000 segments (88.5%), and the radial peak strain was significantly reduced in the segments with plaque (IMT>=1.2mm, -3.53+/-2.79%) than those without (-4.67+/-2.85%, p<0.0001). Two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging may be useful to measure regional distensibility of the carotid atherosclerotic lesions.