Carotid
atherosclerotic plaque growth leads to the progressive
luminal stenosis of the vessel, which may erode or
rupture causing
thromboembolism and
cerebral infarction, manifested as
stroke.
Carotid atherosclerosis is considered the major cause of
ischemic stroke in Europe and thus new imaging-based computational tools that can improve risk stratification and management of
carotid artery disease patients are needed. In this work, we present a new computational approach for modeling
atherosclerotic plaque progression in real patient-carotid lesions, with moderate to severe degree of
stenosis (>50%). The model incorporates for the first time, the baseline 3D geometry of the plaque tissue components (e.g.
Lipid Core) identified by MR imaging, in which the major biological processes of
atherosclerosis are simulated in time. The simulated plaque tissue production results in the inward remodeling of the vessel wall promoting
luminal stenosis which in turn predicts the region of the actual
stenosis progression observed at the follow-up visit. The model aims to support clinical decision making, by identifying regions prone to plaque formation, predict
carotid stenosis and plaque burden progression, and provide advice on the optimal time for patient follow-up screening.