CADUS, Center for Arteriosclerosis Detection with Ultrasound

Atherosclerosis of the carotid arteries is a common cause of stroke, the leading cause of disabling disease and the third most common cause of death.. Atherosclerosis arises from the formation of material deposits (plaque) on the inside of the artery wall. The plaque slowly builds up in the artery wall over a number of years. The pathogenetic mechanism is believed to be embolic in the large majority of cases, with either fragments of the atherosclerotic lesion or thombotic elements of the surface of the plaque braking off and moving with the blood into the brain. Once a major brain artery is occluded by an embolus and brain damage has resulted, no specific therapy exists today. Therefore, preventive measures are of great importance and today patients with symptomatic severe lesions are offered surgical therapy.
Until now, treatment has mainly been given based on the degree of narrowing of the carotid arteries. Recent research has indicated that other factors may be important as well. Especially, the appearance of the carotid atherosclerotic lesions on ultrasound B-mode images has been shown to be related to the risk of development of neurological symptoms.
The aim of CADUS is to develop new improved methods for detection and classification of atherosclerotic plaque. A number of projects are conducted within CADUS (http://www.it.dtu.dk/~wilhjelm/cadus.html): Influence of Formalin Fixation Prior to in vitro Ultrasound Examination of Porcine Arteries. Digital Image Analysis of Ultrasound B-Mode Images of Carotid Plaque. Estimation of Carotid Plaque Contents With Multi-Angle 3D Compound Imaging. Experimental Ultrasound System for investigation of multi-angle compound imaging. The Diffraction Response Interpolation Method. Measurement of Echo Signals from Rough Surfaces of Infinite Extent.