Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Section of Vascular Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2009 Oct;22(10):1129-33. doi: 10.1016/j.echo.2009.06.021. Epub 2009 Jul 31.
The measurement of carotid intima-medial thickness is a well-validated measure of cardiovascular risk. Although atherosclerosis occurs in the intima, this arterial layer is not measured alone because of the limitation in ultrasound resolution with standard-frequency probes.
We evaluated the feasibility of using a 55-MHz ultrasound system with high resolution to measure intima thickness in several vascular territories compared with a "standard" frequency probe.
The intima-medial thickness was measured in the brachial, radial, and tibial arteries in 10 healthy subjects and 5 subjects with peripheral arterial disease. The high-frequency ultrasound probe showed superior resolution compared with the standard-frequency probe, allowing for measurement of intima separately from media.
The intima can be measured independently of media with a high degree of reproducibility using a high-frequency probe. This technology may allow for early detection of cardiovascular risk and extend knowledge about the physiologic changes in early atherosclerotic development.
颈动脉内膜中层厚度的测量是一种经过充分验证的心血管风险评估方法。尽管动脉粥样硬化发生在动脉内膜层，但由于标准频率探头的超声分辨率有限，不能单独测量这一动脉层。
我们评估了使用具有高分辨率的 55MHz 超声系统与“标准”频率探头相比，测量多个血管区域内膜厚度的可行性。
10 名健康受试者和 5 名外周动脉疾病患者的肱动脉、桡动脉和胫动脉进行了内膜中层厚度测量。与标准频率探头相比，高频超声探头具有更高的分辨率，允许将内膜与中膜分开测量。
使用高频探头可以高度重现地独立测量内膜，而无需考虑中膜。这项技术可能有助于早期发现心血管风险，并扩展对早期动脉粥样硬化发展中生理变化的认识。
