Carotid Artery Plaque Ulceration: Definition, Detection, and Significance

Carotid artery plaque ulceration is a depression formed by the release of necrotic lipid materials into the blood after plaque rupture, with a size of at least 1x1mm. The blood and contrast agent in the lumen of the carotid artery are connected to it (25,26). Ultrasound contrast imaging can help to display plaque ulcers that are difficult to display with conventional ultrasound (27). According to literature reports, the specificity of plaque rupture characterized by plaque ulceration shown on CEUS is up to 92.6% (4). 3D CEUS technology can more intuitively display the situation of ulcers and floating thrombi within plaques (28).