Computerized System for Quantitative Assessment of Atherosclerotic Plaques in the Femoral and Iliac Arteries Visualized by Multislice Computed Tomography

Objective: The investigation is aimed at the development of a semiautomatic method of examining the femoral and iliac arteries, and quantifying atherosclerotic plaques visible in the multislice computed tomography images. Methods: We have utilized the advanced morphology and segmentation methods for processing of a series of the images. In particular, a novel sorted pixel intensity approach to segment the artery into the lumen/plaque regions has been used, and effectively combined with the Gaussian mixture modeling to increase the accuracy of the segmentation. Results: Our numerical results are compared with those obtained manually by two experts. Statistics relevant to the progression of atherosclerosis have also been suggested. Results of the semiautomatic tracking of the femoral and iliac arteries and of the quantitative evaluation of atherosclerotic alterations therein have been shown to correspond well with the expert´s results. Conclusion: The developed system is likely to be valuable tool for supporting the quantitative evaluation of atherosclerotic changes in arteries. Significance: In its present form the system can be used for planning surgical treatment and/or predicting the course of the atherosclerotic alterations.