Deformation of plaque in the carotid artery was studied in patients by B-mode ultrasonography. The plaque showed a change in shape due to pulsatile blood flow. Five of the patients had suffered cerebral stroke.There are many risk factors of embolism that can cause stroke, and soft plaque is an important risk factor for cerebral infarction. We coined the term "jellyfish sign" for this unstable deformation pattern of soft plaque. Unstable movement of the plaque suggests that it may contain a soft area and hemorrhage under a thin cap, which might easily cause rupture and artery to artery embolism. B-mode is useful for revealing such high-risk plaque showing the "jellyfish sign".

Purpose : In a previous paper we reported the detection of floating plaque FP as an area of high brightness by the B-flow method. The purpose of the present study was to analyze this phenomenon in detail, and here we report the mechanism underlying it. Subjects and methods : Between August and September , we examined cervical carotid arteries using the B-mode method of ultrasonography LOGIC system, GE with a MHz broadband linear array transducer. We analyzed the size and oscillation speed of FP, and the frame rate FR of the B-flow method. Results : Eight FPs were recognized by B-flow imaging in carotid arteries in patients aged between and years. Five of them were men with an average age of years. All the plaques were displayed as areas of high brightness by B-flow imaging. We altered the FR while observing the rate at which flaps were displayed at high brightness, and found high rates of detection at Hz and Hz, indicating that a high FR tends to detect FP at a high rate. The high brightness is thought to be due to weak signal inhibition of FP by tissue equalization. Conclusion : B-flow is a useful new approach for detecting micro FP.

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