title: Evaluation of texture parameters for the quantitative description of multimodal nonlinear optical images from atherosclerotic rabbit arteries.
abstract: The composition and structure of atherosclerotic lesions can be directly related to the risk they pose to the patient. Multimodal nonlinear optical (NLO) microscopy provides a powerful means to visualize the major extracellular components of the plaque that critically determine its structure. Textural features extracted from NLO images were investigated for their utility in providing quantitative descriptors of structural and compositional changes associated with plaque development. Ten texture parameters derived from the image histogram and gray level co-occurrence matrix were examined that highlight specific structural and compositional motifs that distinguish early and late stage plaques. Tonal-texture parameters could be linked to key histological features that characterize vulnerable plaque: the thickness and density of the fibrous cap, size of the atheroma, and the level of inflammation indicated through lipid deposition. Tonal and texture parameters from NLO images provide objective metrics that correspond to structural and biochemical changes that occur within the vessel wall in early and late stage atherosclerosis.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biodiagnostics, National Research Council Canada, Winnipeg, R3B 1Y6, Canada.
authors.forename: Leila B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Mostaço-Guidolin
authors.forename: Alex C-T
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: Dan P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Popescu
authors.forename: Michael S D
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Elicia K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Kohlenberg
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shiomi
authors.forename: Arkady
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Major
authors.forename: Michael G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Sowa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001158:Arteries / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods*; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D055620:Optical Phenomena; D058226:Plaque, Atherosclerotic / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D011817:Rabbits; D015203:Reproducibility of Results