Identification of constitutive parameters of carotid atherosclerotic plaques by CINE MR imaging

Motivation: Beyond structural features of carotid plaque and hemodynamic parameters, the hemodynamic and structural metrics were determined by image-based computer simulations and the constitutive characteristics of carotid plaques were ignored. Goal(s): We aimed to propose a method for identification of carotid plaque constitutive parameters using CINE MR images. Approach: A novel MRI-based method to identify constitutive parameters of carotid plaque compositions was proposed and the calculated values from the proposed method were compared with the reference and ex-vivo validation. Results: We found that calculated values were consistent with the reference and experimental results. The constant D2 could identify plaque compositions with different stiffness. Impact: Our study proposed a novel MRI-based method for identifying constitutive parameters of carotid plaque compositions. The constant D2 could indicate different components of carotid plaques.