Evaluation of a Kalman-based block matching method to assess the bi-dimensional motion of the carotid artery wall in B-mode ultrasound sequences
We investigate arterial diseases by quantifying the wall stiffness in US imaging. We focus on the intima-media tissues longitudinal motion, i.e. along the blood flow. We introduce a novel block matching method based on a specific Kalman filter. Results on 82 in vivo sequences show good accuracy compared to experts tracings. The longitudinal motion is significantly reduced in at cardiovascular risk patients.
block matching carotid artery kalman filter atherosclerosis speckle tracking