Comparison of Carotid Plaque Ultrasound and Computed Tomography in Patients and Ex Vivo Specimens-Agreement of Composition Analysis

Journal article

Background: Carotid plaque composition is central to stroke risk, but some aspects of plaque characterization are derived from ex vivo imaging, while clinical decision-making relies on in vivo ultrasound (US) and computed tomography (CT). High correlation of clinical in vivo and ex vivo imaging is necessary when including ex vivo plaque features in artificial intelligence (AI) models, but the extent of this correlation between CT and US remains poorly understood. Methods: Patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy (n = 188) were enrolled. Preoperative carotid US (n = 182) and CT (n = 156) were performed. Plaque specimens from 187 patients were imaged on ex vivo CT and US. Quantitative metrics included plaque volumes, relative calcified/non-calcified volumes, HU and grayscale distributions, Agatston and calcification scores, and heterogeneity indices (coefficient of variation). Qualitative US parameters (echogenicity, juxtaluminal echolucency, discrete white areas) were visually graded. Correlation between in vivo and ex vivo imaging was assessed, and agreement was quantified for parameters with the highest correlation with Bland-Altman analysis. Results: CT of patients and ex vivo CT showed moderate to strong correlation for total, calcified, and non-calcified plaque volumes and whole-plaque mean HU (r = 0.55-0.79; CCC = 0.43-0.74). Agatston and calcification scores correlated strongly (r = 0.78-0.80; CCC = 0.63-0.76). In contrast, most non-calcified and heterogeneity metrics showed negligible-to-weak correlation. Correlations between in vivo and ex vivo US were substantially weaker (maximum correlation: 75th grayscale percentile r = 0.35). In vivo CT overestimated calcified volume (bias: 8.7%) and in vivo US underestimated the 75th grayscale quantile (bias: -25.5 grayscale). Conclusions: Quantitative CT metrics-particularly relative calcified plaque volume and calcium scores-translate reasonably well from ex vivo to in vivo imaging and represent robust candidates for radiomics and AI-based stroke risk models, even ex vivo. Ultrasound parameters show limited translational validity, underscoring the need for volumetric clinical US and discouraging the inclusion of ex vivo ultrasound features for machine learning applications.

Authors: Stemmler, S; Soschynski, M; Czerny, M; Zeller, T; Westermann, D

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: MDPI
• Journal: Journal of Clinical Medicine
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 545
• Publication date: 2026-01-09
• Acceptance date: 2026-01-07
• DOI: 10.3390/jcm15020545
• EISSN: 2077-0383
• ISSN: 2077-0383
• Pmid: 41598483
• Language: English
• Keywords: Carotid Endarterectomy; Plaque Imaging; Carotid stenosis; CT; Artificial intelligence; Radiomics; ultrasound