Imaging of the carotid arteries: the role of duplex ultrasonography, magnetic resonance arteriography, and computerized tomographic arteriography

Abstract

Stenosis of the internal carotid artery represents a major cause of stroke, with atherosclerosis representing the major pathophysiology of this stenosis. It is estimated that over 700,000 Americans suffer a stroke annually. A prompt and accurate diagnosis of carotid artery disease is critical when planning a therapeutic strategy. Physical examination is inaccurate in determining the presence and severity of carotid artery disease. Therefore, reliable imaging tests which offer little risk to the patient are required.

Carotid Artery Wall Thickness and Leukoaraiosis: Preliminary Results Using Multidetector Row CT Angiography

“…[11][12][13] Sonography is a widely used noninvasive technique for imaging the carotid arteries and investigating the atherosclerotic processes that may affect the carotid arteries. [14][15][16] One of the most commonly used parameters for evaluating carotid atherosclerosis by using US is the IMT, which represents the quantification of the intima-media layers of the carotid artery. 17 IMT is correlated with systemic atherosclerosis and predicts the risk of recurrent strokes.…”

The pulsatility volume index: an indicator of cerebrovascular compliance based on fast magnetic resonance imaging of cardiac and respiratory pulsatility

“…Previous work with Doppler ultrasound methods [25] and gated CINE MRI methods [10] mainly focuses on measuring blood/CSF velocity during the cardiac cycle only; further, to probe brain tissue elasticity, other techniques (MR elastography) employ external mechanical vibrations at high frequency (range 25-100 Hz [26,27]). The possibility, demonstrated by our results, to map the effects of two different endogenous (cardiac and respiratory) pressure waves enables one to probe brain tissue compliance at two physiological modes of vibration, hence possibly providing complementary information on cerebrovascular and brain parenchymal compliance (for instance because of different compliance mechanisms at different frequencies, namely approx.…”

Quality of Extracranial Carotid Evaluation with 256-Section CT

“…An additional limitation of the fast scanning technique is the potential for overestimation of stenotic lesions 27 and the identification of pseudo-occlusions. One case of CTA segmental nonopacification was confirmed with a follow-up sonography to be a patent segment, whereas 2 cases of CTA segmental nonfilling showed no detectable Doppler flow at follow-up sonography and 2 cases of CTA segmental nonfilling did not have correlative imaging.…”