The diagnostic value of black blood CT for vulnerable plaques at the carotid bifurcation
10.3969/j.issn.1002-1671.2025.11.006
- VernacularTitle:黑血CT对颈动脉分叉处易损斑块的诊断价值
- Author:
Haipeng LIU
1
;
Junyan YUE
;
Kai JI
;
Zhuangfei MA
;
Zhan YIN
;
Hongkai CUI
;
Ruifang YAN
;
Changhua LIANG
Author Information
1. 新乡医学院第一附属医院放射科,河南 新乡 453100
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
black blood image;
vulnerable plaque;
computed tomography;
carotid atherosclerosis
- From:
Journal of Practical Radiology
2025;41(11):1785-1790
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of black blood computed tomography(BBCT)in vulnerable plaques at the carotid bifurcation.Methods The imaging data of 73 patients with suspected carotid atherosclerosis were retrospectively analyzed.The signal-to-noise ratio(SNR)and contrast-to-noise ratio(CNR)of conventional computed tomography angiography(CTA)ima-ges and BBCT images were compared by paired sample t-test.The 5-level scoring method was applied to evaluate the image quality subjectively,and the Friedman test was used to compare the differences in the subjective evaluation of image quality among the groups.Taking high-resolution magnetic resonance vessel wall imaging(HRMR-VWI)as the gold standard,the diagnostic value between BBCT and conventional CTA was compared,and the consistency of BBCT and HRMR-VWI in the evaluation of vulnerable plaques was calculated.Results The standard deviation(SD)value of BBCT images was lower than that of conventional three-phase CTA images,indicating better quality of BBCT images(P＜0.001).The mean CT value and CNRplaque-lumen of non-calcified plaques were higher in BBCT images than those in conventional three-phase CTA images,suggesting that BBCT had a higher contrast with sur-rounding tissues and could better display the fine structure of non-calcified plaques(P＜0.001).BBCT images achieved the highest scores in the subjective evaluation of image quality(P＜0.001).Compared with conventional CTA images,BBCT had higher sensi-tivity(88.2％vs 29.4％)and accuracy(90.9％vs 54.5％)in identifying vulnerable plaques(P＜0.001).The Kappa value between BBCT and HRMR-VWI was 0.813,showed good consistency.Conclusion The image quality of neck BBCT is superior to that of conventional CTA.BBCT has a better effect than conventional CTA in identifying vulnerable plaques at the carotid bifurcation,which is comparable to HRMR-VWI.
