Evaluation of Dynamic Changes in Relative Cross-sectional Area of the Carotid Artery Based on Ultrasound Images

The work proposes a method for identifying the contour of the cross-section of vessels based on the results of an ultrasound examination of the neck vessels. The proposed method allows, based on the analysis of brightness sections, identifying the contour of the cross-section of a blood vessel and evaluating changes in the cross-sectional area of the vessel in dynamics. This enables identifying a predisposition to certain pathologies of the neck vessels. However, the authors note that this procedure is not the main one and can be used as an addition to a comprehensive examination. The method includes such stages as preliminary image processing, searching for brightness differences, refining the coordinates of the points of the vessel cross-section contour, smoothing the obtained coordinate values, and estimating the area. Based on the proposed methodology, a program was developed for frame-by-frame analysis of the results of ultrasound examination of the neck vessels [7].