CLINICAL VALUE OF ULTRASOUND HIGH-PRECISION BLOOD FLOW IMAGING COMBINED WITH ELASTOGRAPHY TECHNOLOGY IN IDENTIFYING UNSTABLE CAROTID PLAQUES

Abstract Objectives Exploring the clinical application value of ultrasound high-precision blood flow imaging combined with elastography technology in identifying unstable carotid plaques. Methods 98 patients with carotid atherosclerosis were divided into unstable plaque group (50 cases) and stable plaque group (48 cases) according to plaque stability. All patients underwent high-precision blood flow imaging (contrast-enhanced) and shear wave elastography. Differences in microvascular density, blood flow parameters and elastic modulus at the plaque sites between the two groups of patients were compared, and the imaging characteristics of unstable plaques were analyzed. Results Unstable plaque group had higher peak intensity (P) values, lower time to peak (tP) values, higher area under the curve (AUC) values, and lower mean transit time (MTT) values in ultrasound high-precision blood flow imaging parameters versus stable plaque group. The unstable plaque group had higher average elastic modulus values, minimum elastic modulus values, and maximum elastic modulus values in shear wave elastography parameters versus stable plaque group. The shear wave elastography parameters of the unstable plaque group had higher rates of vascular stenosis, plaque calcification, and intraplaque hemorrhage, and lower rates of fibrous cap integrity versus stable plaque group. There was a significant positive correlation between intraplaque hemorrhage and soft plaque and the occurrence of cerebral infarction in unstable plaque group. Conclusions High-resolution blood flow imaging combined with elasticity imaging technology can effectively reflect micro angiogenesis and tissue stiffness characteristics within carotid plaques, and has significant clinical value for identifying unstable plaques. Acknowledgments This work was supported by the Research Fund Project of Hebei Provincial Health Commission (No. 20231470).