Systems, devices, and methods for non-invasive image-based plaque analysis and risk determination

A computer-implemented method of generating a graphical representation of arterial plaque progression to facilitate tracking of progression of arterial disease for a subject, the method comprising:

• accessing, by a computer system, a first medical image of a subject obtained at a first point in time, the first medical image comprising a region of one or more arteries of the subject and one or more regions of plaque captured at the first point in time;
• accessing, by the computer system, analysis results of the first medical image, the analysis results comprising identification of the region of the one or more arteries and the one or more regions of plaque and a classification of the one or more regions of plaque in the first medical image;
• accessing, by the computer system, a second medical image of the subject obtained at a second point in time, the second medical image comprising the region of the one or more arteries of the subject and the one or more regions of plaque captured at the second point in time;
• normalizing, by the computer system, the second medical image to the first medical image based at least in part on radiodensity values of a known material in both the first medical image and the second medical image;
• analyzing, by the computer system, the second medical image to identify the region of the one or more arteries and the one or more regions of plaque and to classify the one or more regions of plaque identified in the second medical image;
• co-registering, by the computer system, the first medical image and the second medical image by identifying one or more anatomical reference points in each of the first medical image and the second medical image and aligning the first medical image and the second medical image based on the one or more anatomical reference points to align corresponding regions of plaque across the first point in time and the second point in time;
• mapping, by the computer system, the region of the one or more arteries and the one or more regions of plaque in the first medical image with the region of the one or more arteries and the one or more regions of plaque in the second medical image and the classification of the one or more regions of plaque in the first medical image with the classification of the one or more regions of plaque identified in the second medical image based at least in part on the co-registering;
• determining, by the computer system, a first subset of the one or more regions of plaque in the second medical image, the first subset of the one or more regions of plaque present only in the second medical image and not in the first medical image based at least in part on the mapping;
• determining, by the computer system, a second subset of the one or more regions of plaque in the second medical image, the second subset of the one or more regions of plaque comprising a different classification between the first medical image and the second medical image;
• and
• generating, by the computer system, a graphical representation of arterial plaque progression of the subject, wherein generating the graphical representation comprises assigning a first color to the first subset of the one or more regions of plaque in the second medical image indicating an increased risk of coronary artery disease, wherein generating the graphical representation further comprises assigning a second color to the second subset of the one or more regions of plaque in the second medical image indicating a decreased risk of coronary artery disease, and wherein the graphical representation of arterial plaque progression in the subject is configured to facilitate tracking of progression of arterial disease for the subject,
• wherein the computer system comprises a computer processor and an electronic storage medium.