Young's modulus reconstruction for assessing vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque composition in vivo

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) elastography visualizes local arterial radial strain in a so-called elastogram to detect vulnerable, rupture-prone plaques. However, due to the unknown arterial stress distribution, this elastogram cannot be directly interpreted as a plaque composition image. To overcome this limitation, we have developed a method that reconstructs a Young's modulus image from an elastogram. This method could successfully reconstruct a plaque from an elastogram that was measured from vessel-mimicking material and measured in vitro from a human coronary plaque. Finally, it was applied on an elastogram measured in vivo from a coronary plaque of a patient.