3D matrix ultrasound accurately identifies cardiovascular injury in
healthy individuals

Date:
March 16, 2022
Source:
Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III
(F.S.P.)
Summary:
A study shows that 3D ultrasound incorporating new matrix technology
is reliable, accurate, and faster than previous methods for the
assessment of plaque volume in the carotid and femoral arteries.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A new imaging technique for real 3D vascular ultrasound could become
a key tool in strategies aimed at preventing cardiovascular disease in apparently healthy persons, complementing traditional risk parameters
such as cholesterol and high blood pressure. The new results, published
in JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging, show that real 3D vascular ultrasound is reliable, accurate, and faster than previous methods for the assessment
of plaque volume in the carotid and femoral arteries.


==========================================================================
The burden, or quantity, of atherosclerosis in the carotid and femoral
arteries is a well-established marker of cardiovascular risk and
is highlighted as a key parameter in international clinical practice
guidelines and expert consensus documents. There is therefore a recognized
need for better and easy-to-use methods for measuring plaque burden that
can be used as population screening tools.

The new imaging method was first validated and implemented in a study
of almost 200 healthy participants with an intermediate cardiovascular
risk from the Athero Brain: Head-to-Heart study, led by Dr. Valenti'n
Fuster, Director General of the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC). The method has now been incorporated into the PESA-CNIC-SANTANDER study, also led by Dr. Fuster, where it is being
used to assess more than 4000 healthy individuals over a 9-year follow-up.

The PESA-CNIC-SANTANDER study, which started in 2010 and was recently
extended until 2030, is one of the most important cardiovascular
prevention studies in the world.

The CNIC researchers partnered with Philips Ultrasound and Philips
Research Paris-Medisys to develop a new probe and software for real
3D ultrasound to facilitate exploration of the carotid and femoral
arteries and speed up quantification of atherosclerotic plaque volume. As
Dr. Fuster explained, "it is clear that traditional clinical evaluations
based on measurements of cholesterol, blood pressure, blood glucose, and lifestyle habits cannot, on their own, accurately determine accumulated
damage in the cardiovascular system, and without this crucial information
we cannot take appropriate decisions to prevent acute events such as
myocardial infarction or stroke." The key to personalized prevention
and treatment strategies, added Dr. Fuster, "is the ability to detect
and quantify an individual's accumulated cardiovascular damage,
or atherosclerotic burden, using noninvasive imaging techniques."
The newly validated 3D vascular probe incorporates 3D matrix technology,
which underpins the most advanced 3D ultrasound techniques. CNIC Clinical Research Director Dr. Borja Iba'n~ez explained that the new technology
allows simultaneous analysis by 2D and 3D ultrasound, includes all functionalities (color doppler, power-doppler, and contrast ultrasound),
and is easily incorporated into daily clinical practice by technical
and medical teams already experienced in ultrasound, emphasizing that
"the integrated analysis software incorporates real 3D data processing."


==========================================================================
In addition to demonstrating the accuracy of 3D matrix ultrasound,
the study demonstrates that the new technique takes just half the time
needed by previous methods to obtain all the information required for the definition of carotid and femoral plaque burden, essential information
for correct patient management.

For patients, the outstanding feature of the new method is that the
software generates a virtual 3D image of their own arteries, allowing
them to see the accumulated damage. "When patients see the state of their arteries, this impresses upon them the need to change their lifestyle,
in graphic manner not achieved by reading a list of analytical data,"
said first author Dr. Beatriz Lo'pez Melgar, a cardiologist at Hospital Universitario La Princesa and head of the 3D Cardioprevention Program
at Hospital HM Montepri'ncipein Madrid.

And for medical professionals, continued Dr. Lo'pez Melgar, "the ability
to view plaques in 3D allows us to assess them more precisely and in
their enterity, something not possible with conventional 2D methods. 3D ultrasound also provides invaluable information about plaque morphology." "Likewise, this technological advance will soon allow us to analyze plaque composition and to use this information to assess the burden of 'adverse plaques' (plaques with a high lipid content that may be at increased
risk of rupture and triggering events, such as stroke). Adverse plaque
burden is a very promising marker that until now could only be assessed
using highly advanced techniques that involve radiation, such as CAT
and PET. Now, with 3D matrixtechnology, measuring adverse plaque burden
is a realistic goal of cardiovascular ultrasound studies." For this
reason, added Dr. Lo'pez Melgar, "we believe that the development of
ultrasound methods will contribute to the expansion of personalized
medicine and the use of diagnostic imaging techniques, and will also
help to ensure that improvements in patient care produce benefits for
a larger sector of the population." Lo'pez Melgar concluded that,
with the development of this technology, "we now have a tool that can
be used on-the-fly in an initial consultation, speeding up decision
making -- an important consideration in cardiovascular prevention,
where time is of the essence." Collaborators on this project included scientists from the Spanish cardiovascular research network (CIBERCV),
and financial support was provided by the Ministerio de Economi'a,
Industria y Competividad(MEIC) and the European Regional Development Fund.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Centro_Nacional_de_Investigaciones_Cardiovasculares
Carlos_III_(F.S.P.). Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Beatriz Lo'pez-Melgar, Virgina Mass, Paula Nogales, Javier Sa'nchez-
Gonza'lez, Robert Entrekin, Antoine Collet-Billon, Xavier
Rossello, Leticia Ferna'ndez-Friera, Antonio Ferna'ndez-Ortiz,
Javier Sanz, Jacob F. Bentzon, He'ctor Bueno, Borja Iba'n~ez,
Valenti'n Fuster. New 3- Dimensional Volumetric Ultrasound Method
for Accurate Quantification of Atherosclerotic Plaque Volume. JACC:
Cardiovascular Imaging, 2022; DOI: 10.1016/j.jcmg.2022.01.005 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220316145746.htm

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