| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To establish the correlation between quantitative analysis based on B-mode ultrasound images of vulnerable carotid plaque and histological examination of the surgically removed plaque, on the basis of a videodensitometric digital texture characterization.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twenty-five patients (18 males, mean age 67 ± 6.9 years) admitted for carotid endarterectomy for extracranial high-grade internal carotid artery stenosis (≥ 70% luminal narrowing) underwent to quantitative ultrasonic tissue characterization of carotid plaque before surgery. A computer software (Carotid Plaque Analysis Software) was developed to perform the videodensitometric analysis. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to symptomatology (group I, 15 symptomatic patients; and group II, 10 patients asymptomatic). Tissue specimens were analysed for lipid, fibromuscular tissue and calcium.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The first order statistic parameter mean gray level was able to distinguish the groups I and II (<it>p </it>= 0.04). The second order parameter energy also was able to distinguish the groups (<it>p </it>= 0,02). A histological correlation showed a tendency of mean gray level to have progressively greater values from specimens with < 50% to >75% of fibrosis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Videodensitometric computer analysis of scan images may be used to identify vulnerable and potentially unstable lipid-rich carotid plaques, which are less echogenic in density than stable or asymptomatic, more densely fibrotic plaques.</p>
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