Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Fig 1.
A basilar artery plaque with a thick fibrous cap and a large lipid core (type IV–V) was identified on multicontrast MR imaging and matched histology (20× magnification). Contours have been drawn for the lumen (red), vessel wall (green), and lipid core (yellow) on a T2-weighted image and hematoxylin-eosin-stained section. The lumen, total vessel, and lipid core areas were 4.34, 13.43, and 2.35 mm2 and 4.66, 10.60, and 1.42 mm2 for MR imaging and histology. The vessel wall areas calculated by total vessel area minus lumen area were 9.09 and 6.00 mm2. The fibrous component areas calculated by vessel wall area minus lipid core area were 6.70 and 4.56 mm2. The percentages of plaque components (Specific Component Area / Vessel Wall Area × 100%) were 25.85% versus 23.63% for the lipid core and 74.15% versus 76.37% for fibrous tissue. Plaque burden (Vessel Wall Area / Total Vessel Area × 100%) was 67.68% versus 56.24%.
- Fig 2.
Vertebral artery plaque with fibrous tissue and calcification was identified on multicontrast MR imaging and matched histology (20× magnification). Contours have been drawn for lumen (red), outer vessel wall (green), and calcification (black) on T2-weighted imaging and a hematoxylin-eosin-stained section. The lumen, total vessel, and calcification areas were 4.99, 12.97, and 0.53 mm2 on MR imaging and 4.86, 9.02, and 0.24 mm2 on histology. The vessel wall areas calculated by total vessel area minus lumen area were 7.98 and 4.16 mm2. The fibrous component area calculated by vessel wall area minus the calcification area was 7.45 and 3.93 mm2. The percentages of components (Specific Component Area / Vessel Wall Area × 100%) were 6.64% versus 5.73% for calcification and 93.36% versus 94.27% for fibrous tissue. Plaque burden (Vessel Wall Area / Total Vessel Area × 100%) was 61.52% versus 46.09%.
Tables
Lipid Core Fibrous Cap Calcification T1 Isointense/hyperintense Isointense Hypointense T2 Isointense/hypointense Isointense/hyperintense Hypointense PD Isointense/hypointense Isointense/hyperintense Hypointense STIR Hypointense Hyperintense Hypointense - Table 2:
Comparison of the percentages of areas and thicknesses and overall plaque burden between MRI and histologya
MRI Histology P r ICC (95% CI) Fibrous component area (%) 81.86 ± 10.59 81.87 ± 11.59 .997 0.901 0.898 (0.832–0.938) Lipid core area (%) 19.51 ± 10.76 19.86 ± 11.56 .660 0.888 0.885 (0.804–0.934) Calcification area (%) 9.68 ± 5.21 8.83 ± 5.67 .030 0.933 0.930 (0.745–0.982) Fibrous cap thickness (%) 31.10 ± 11.28 30.83 ± 8.51 .890 0.438 0.421 (0.155–0.630) Plaque burden area (%) 65.18 ± 9.01 52.71 ± 14.58 <.001 0.862 0.771 (0.640–0.858) Note:—r indicates the Pearson correlation coefficient.
↵a Results are expressed as mean ± SD with P values derived from a linear mixed-effects model.
