Three-dimensional characterization of atherosclerotic plaques using two-dimensional ultrasound images

A device for characterizing an atherosclerotic plaque in vasculature comprising:

• one or more processors configured to:
• acquire a plurality of two-dimensional ultrasound images of the vasculature using an ultrasound probe, each image being associated with positional data of the ultrasound probe relative to the vasculature at a time of image acquisition;
• segment the plurality of two-dimensional ultrasound images considering varying acoustic signatures between one or more plaque atherosclerotic bodies and vasculature tissue;
• compute a location value and an orientation value over time from the positional data contained in more than one of the plurality of two-dimensional ultrasound images;
• and
• compute a three-dimensional representation of the atherosclerotic plaque in at least one blood vessel of the vasculature from the location value, the orientation value and the segmented plurality of two-dimensional ultrasound images.

A system for characterizing an atherosclerotic plaque in vasculature comprising:

• an ultrasound probe that acquires a plurality of two-dimensional ultrasound images of the vasculature;
• one or more processors configured to:
• associate positional data to a set of location-enhanced images of the plurality of two-dimensional ultrasound images relative to the vasculature at a time of image acquisition;
• segment the location-enhanced images considering varying acoustic signatures between one or more plaque atherosclerotic bodies and vasculature tissue;
• compute a location value and an orientation value over time from positional data contained in more than one of the location-enhanced images;
• and
• compute a three-dimensional representation of the atherosclerotic plaque in at least one blood vessel of the vasculature from the location value, the orientation value and the segmented location-enhanced images.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for characterizing an atherosclerotic plaque in vasculature, the set of instructions comprising:

• one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to:
• acquire a plurality of two-dimensional ultrasound images of the vasculature using an ultrasound probe, each image being associated with positional data of the ultrasound probe relative to the vasculature at a time of image acquisition;
• segment the plurality of two-dimensional ultrasound images considering varying acoustic signatures between one or more plaque atherosclerotic bodies and vasculature tissue;
• compute a location value and an orientation value over time from positional data contained in more than one of the plurality of two-dimensional ultrasound images;
• and
• compute a three-dimensional representation of the atherosclerotic plaque in at least one blood vessel of the vasculature from the location value, the orientation value and the segmented plurality of two-dimensional ultrasound images.