Chapter 20: Computational Methods for the Analysis of Intravascular Ultrasound Data

Atherosclerosis is a condition in which the wall of the arteries hardens and thickens due to the accumulation of plaque. The primary cause of acute coronary events is related to the inflammation and disruption of coronary plaques. Characterization and detection of plaques vulnerable to complications (i.e., vulnerable plaque, VP) is one of the most active areas of research in cardiology. Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is an invasive technique that is capable of providing a real-time, high-resolution tomographic visualization of the coronary arteries which allows the accurate estimation of the morphological characteristics of the vessel. The extraction of valuable information from the IVUS data through the use of medical image analysis methods has played an important role in the detection and characterization of VP. In this chapter, we will present different computational methods developed for the analysis of IVUS data and the detection of VP.