Determination of the variation of the intima-media thickness and the diameter of arteries from echocardiographic ultrasound image sequences

The intima-media thickness (IMT) of the arteries serves as a marker of generalized atherosclerosis and several studies have shown a positive association between IMT and incident stroke. Several software systems have been developed to detect IMT and artery diameter, with some trying to obtain and show these values automatically without success because the operator normally has to do some later adjustments. Our proposed method shows that a totally automatic measurement is possible. This method is part (plugin) of a software called EchoLab that aims to be a repository of algorithms and methods used in echocardiography. We have tested the software with a set of images of a home-made phantom and our results show that it accurately measured the inner diameter of the silicone tube of the phantom (error less than 5%). We have also tested the software with real echocardiographic images and show the results for a set of 244 frames. Specialists at INCOR/USP are now validating the software.