title: Real-Time Elastography Visualization and Histopathological Characterization of Rabbit Atherosclerotic Carotid Arteries.
abstract: To evaluate the feasibility of non-invasive vascular real-time elastography imaging (RTE) in visualizing the composition of rabbit carotid atherosclerotic plaque as determined by histopathology, a rabbit model of accelerated carotid atherosclerosis was used. Thirty rabbits were randomly divided into two groups of 15 rabbits each. The first group was fed a cholesterol-rich diet and received balloon-induced injury the left common carotid artery endothelium, whereas the second group only received a cholesterol-rich diet. The rabbits were all examined in vivo with HITACHI non-invasive vascular real-time elastography (Hi-RTE) at baseline and 12 wk, and results from the elastography were compared with American Heart Association histologic classifications. Hi-RTE and the American Heart Association histologic classifications had good agreement, with weighted Cohen's kappa (95% confidence internal) of 0.785 (0.649-0.920). Strains of segmented plaques that were stained in different colors were statistically different (p < 0.0001). The sensitivity and specificity of elastograms for detecting a lipid core were 95.5% and 61.5%, respectively, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.789, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.679 to 0.876. This study is the first to indicate the feasibility of utilizing Hi-RTE in visualizing normal and atherosclerotic rabbit carotid arteries non-invasively. This affordable and reliable method can be widely applied in research of both animal and human peripheral artery atherosclerosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound, Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
authors.forename: ZhenZhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound, Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
authors.forename: NaNa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound, DaQing Fourth Hospital, DaQing, China.
authors.forename: LiFeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound, Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
authors.forename: XiaoYing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound, Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
authors.forename: XueSong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound, Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
authors.forename: YanQing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound, Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
authors.forename: MeiZheng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound, Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China. Electronic address: litaosun1971@sina.com.
authors.forename: LiTao
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound, Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China. Electronic address: jwtianhmu@126.com.
authors.forename: JiaWei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tian
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D008297:Male; D058226:Plaque, Atherosclerotic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012372:ROC Curve; D011817:Rabbits; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
keywords: Atherosclerosis; Histology; Plaques; Rabbit carotid artery; Real-time elastography; Ultrasound