# High Framerate Plane-Wave Variance of Acceleration and Vector Flow Imaging for the Characterization of Atherosclerotic Plaque Morphology and Assessment of Vascular Hemodynamics

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2022 · $39,191

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 The need for minimally invasive methods for screening early predictors of ischemic stroke are required to
combat the increase in cardiovascular disease cases while reducing number of unnecessary carotid
endarterectomies, which are invasive but preventative procedures to remove plaques. The current gold-standard
for diagnosis, duplex ultrasound, is often used to detect heavily occluded vasculature, but simply noting the
degree of stenosis is an insufficient measure of plaque rupture vulnerability. Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse
(ARFI) ultrasound technique recently emerged as a potential method to separate vulnerable from stable plaques
through delineation of plaque components. However, as the technique relies on emission of high intensity
focused acoustic pulses, although nondestructive, the potential for tissue heating limits extended uses, while the
long period of data collection increases opportunities for motion artifacts to corrupt data collection and
physiological interpretation of results. The use of a new ultrafast ARFI imaging sequence to evaluate both
plaque structure and surrounding hemodynamics may provide significant advancement in reducing
acquisition time, reducing acoustic heating, and improving risk prediction. There exists overwhelming
evidence that mechanics of plaque growth and rupture are governed by shear forces acting on the vessel walls.
Monitoring the dynamics changes in shear stress in addition to more efficiently detecting plaque composition
may prove a novel avenue for discerning at risk patients with vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques vs those with
stable plaque phenotypes. We propose to further develop and characterize ultrasound parallel transmit
sequences to image tissue in rapid succession and additionally detect multi directional blood flow around the
vasculature. Combining the ARFI elastography, high framerate imaging, and flow information allows a real-time
realizable assessment of the plaque environment throughout the entire cardiac cycle. Therefore, meeting the
aims of the study will further develop diagnostic imaging tools for future stroke risk assessment.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10461534
- **Project number:** 1F31HL160214-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Keerthi Surej Anand
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $39,191
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-08-01 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10461534

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10461534, High Framerate Plane-Wave Variance of Acceleration and Vector Flow Imaging for the Characterization of Atherosclerotic Plaque Morphology and Assessment of Vascular Hemodynamics (1F31HL160214-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10461534. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*