Khattab Ahmed, Wertheim David, Petford Nick, Kirk Ruth, Wijesinghe Lasantha, Ali Ibtisam
School of Health & Social Care, Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.
J Vasc Interv Neurol. 2011 Jul;4(2):1-4.
Little information is available on how forces resulting from fluid flow interact with structural stability of carotid atherosclerotic plaque and how such interactions may impact on stroke prevention; investigation of the 3D structure of plaque could help in such studies. The aim of this study was to investigate whether confocal microscopy can be used to obtain 3D visualization of the structure of atherosclerotic carotid plaques.
Carotid plaque specimens were collected from routine end-arterectomy surgical operations. Both bright-field microscopy and Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy (LSCM) were used to generate 3D image data-sets and visualizations of surgically removed carotid plaques.
Evidence of carotid plaque vulnerability was demonstrated by reduced fibrous cap thickness and large lipid-necrotic core with evidence of cracking.
The generation of 3D images of carotid plaques could help in: (i) investigating key features that affect plaque structural stability; (ii) comparing 3D microstructure of the plaque with clinical imaging assessment and blood flow investigations; and (iii) developing markers to identify patients requiring clinical intervention.
关于流体流动产生的力如何与颈动脉粥样硬化斑块的结构稳定性相互作用，以及这种相互作用如何影响中风预防，目前所知甚少；对斑块三维结构的研究可能有助于此类研究。本研究的目的是调查共聚焦显微镜是否可用于获得动脉粥样硬化颈动脉斑块结构的三维可视化。
从常规动脉内膜切除术手术中收集颈动脉斑块标本。使用明场显微镜和激光扫描共聚焦显微镜（LSCM）生成三维图像数据集并对手术切除的颈动脉斑块进行可视化。
通过纤维帽厚度减小和存在破裂迹象的大脂质坏死核心证明了颈动脉斑块易损性。
颈动脉斑块三维图像的生成有助于：（i）研究影响斑块结构稳定性的关键特征；（ii）将斑块的三维微观结构与临床影像评估和血流研究进行比较；（iii）开发用于识别需要临床干预患者的标志物。
