CEUS: A Promising Tool for Assessing Plaque Vulnerability and Detecting Neovascularization

Recent studies have highlighted the potential of CEUS in assessing the vulnerability of plaques by detecting neovascularization within them. The findings suggest that the degree of enhancement of carotid artery plaques is closely linked to the density of neovascularization within the plaque and the echo of the plaque. However, there seems to be no correlation between the degree of carotid artery stenosis and the degree of enhancement. The research also shows that there is a good correlation between the semi-quantitative histological evaluation of surgical specimens and neovascularization detected by carotid plaque CEUS. Furthermore, carotid artery plaque ultrasonography is found to be correlated with histological microvascular density in terms of spatial and temporal parameters. A meta-analysis has also suggested that contrast-enhanced ultrasound is a promising non-invasive method for detecting neovascularization within plaques.