A computer-implemented method of characterizing a change in coronary calcium based on image analysis of one or more medical images of a coronary region of a subject, the method comprising:
- accessing, by a computer system, a first coronary calcium level of the subject and a first set of plaque parameters associated with the coronary region of the subject, the first coronary calcium level and the first set of parameters obtained at a first point in time, wherein the first set of plaque parameters comprises a ratio or function of volume or surface area, heterogeneity index, geometry, and radiodensity of one or more regions of plaque within the coronary region of the subject at the first point in time;
- generating, by the computer system, a first weighted measure of the accessed first set of plaque parameters;
- accessing, by the computer system, a second coronary calcium level of the subject and one or more medical images of the coronary region of the subject, the second coronary calcium level and the one or more medical images obtained at a second point in time, wherein the one or more medical images of the coronary region of the subject comprises the one or more regions of plaque;
- determining, by the computer system, a change in coronary calcium level of the subject between the first point in time and the second point in time by comparing the first coronary calcium level and the second coronary calcium level;
- identifying, by the computer system, the one or more regions of plaque from the one or more medical images;
- determining, by the computer system, a second set of plaque parameters associated with the coronary region of the subject by analyzing the one or more regions of plaque from the one or more medical images, wherein the second set of plaque parameters comprises a ratio or function of volume or surface area, heterogeneity index, geometry, and radiodensity of the one or more regions of plaque at the second point in time;
- generating, by the computer system, a second weighted measure of the determined second set of plaque parameters;
- analyzing, by the computer system, a change between the first weighted measure of the accessed first set of plaque parameters and the second weighted measure of the determined second set of plaque parameters;
- and
- characterizing, by the computer system, the change in coronary calcium level of the subject between the first point in time and the second point in time as one of positive, neutral, or negative based at least in part on the analyzed change between the first weighted measure of the accessed first set of plaque parameters and the second weighted measure of the determined second set of plaque parameters,
- wherein the computer system comprises a computer processor and an electronic storage medium.