Multi-modality method offers precise characterization of atherosclerosis progression

Atherosclerosis is a chronic cardiovascular disease with more than 3 million cases per year. The disease has been extensively studied through numerous modalities, but health professionals still struggle to find ways to precisely identify vulnerable plaques that are prone to rupture.

Gurneet Sangha and Craig Goergen combined photoacoustic tomography and 4D ultrasound image to characterize atherosclerosis progression by assessing arterial morphology, composition, strain, and hemodynamics in a mouse model. The authors noted that photoacoustic imaging compliments currently available clinical methods, such as ultrasound, by providing compositional information that could potentially help identify arterial disease phenotype.

The authors performed their research on mice, conducting both longitudinal in vivo ultrasound and cross-sectional in situ photoacoustic tomography studies. Their results suggest regions with greater disturbed flow are correlated with more aggressive atherosclerosis progression.

“Our data suggests that the vessel lumen becomes narrower at an earlier time point, and there are more fatty deposits in those regions,” said Sangha.

The authors performed their experiments using a label-free method, without the use of contrast agents, while demonstrating a nondestructive assessment of lipid composition of atherosclerotic plaques.

“Being able to translate this research, which was performed on small animals, to research on humans remains a challenge, but it is one that would provide substantial benefits, if addressed,” said Sangha.

Source: “Label-free photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging for murine atherosclerosis characterization,” by Gurneet S. Sangha and Craig J. Goergen, APL Bioengineering (2020). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5142728 .