The Information System for the Research in Carotid Atherosclerosis

This work addresses the possibility of using a new information system and is focused on reproducibility of the Echo-Index between two non-experienced independent observers for atherosclerotic plaques displayed on B-images. The Echo-Index is a numerical value which should characterize the echogenicity grade in selected Region of Interest. In this pilot study, the level of agreement between two independent observers for this index is investigated. The Echo-Index is computed using software image analysis from own developed application designed for digital image analysis of B-images. The results show that the index is well reproducible in time and between two independent observers as well. The study has been performed on a set of 284 B-images. Each image was analyzed two times by one observer and subsequently two times by another observer independently. The Echo-Index is a starting point to create a decision-making expert information system which should help decide about risk assessment in atherosclerosis of carotid artery. The idea of the system is based on differentiation of echogenicity grade according to Echo-Index value. In consequence, the system should classify the plaques into different classes to early risk assessment in carotid atherosclerosis. If the system works properly, many clinical studies can be performed in future; focused on automatic classification of the plaques displayed in B-images to early atherosclerosis diagnosis.