Plaque Morphology of Popliteal Arteries: A Study Using Intravascular Ultrasound

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) provides detailed images of vessels. The medical literatures is rich with research regarding the use of IVUS for both endovascular treatment and the morphologic evaluation of coronary arterial and aortic plaques. This study aimed to characterize the morphologic properties of the popliteal arteries with using IVUS. METHOD: Eighteen popliteal arteries from amputated legs were pressure- perfused and the pullback images were obtained with 20 MHz IVUS catheters along an average length of 40.8 mm (+/-10.6 mm, SD) of artery. The video images were analyzed for the luminal and medial- adventitial borders, and the various morphologic parameters of the plaques were determined. RESULT: The mean Vessel diameter was 6.5 mm (+/-1.0 mm) and luminal diameter was 3.8 mm (+/-0.9 mm). The areas for the vessels, lumens and plaques were 30.7 (+/-10.0), 9.5 (+/-5.0) and 21.2 (+/-7.1) mm2 respectively, and the mean percent area stenosis was 69.4% (+/-9.8%). Vessel area correlated positively with the plaque area in 16 specimens (correlation coefficient of the pooled data, r=0.89, P<0.01), and the luminal area in 14 specimens (r=0.75), it was negatively correlated with the percent area stenosis in 11 out of 18 arteries (r=-0.09). CONCLUSION: These results show the details of morphologic changes in severely stenosed popliteal arteries. The vessel area is influenced by both the plaque area and the luminal area.