Carotid Artery Imaging

We are interested in understand morphology, wall/plaque composition and wall dynamics of the carotid artery and how these alter in carotid artery disease. This research activity consists of three connected projects:

1. Development of new dynamic fast-spin echo imaging approaches (using non-linear sampling, parallel imaging and compressed sensing) for time-resolved imaging of carotid arteries (see movie)
2. Characterization of wall distensibiity, morphology and plaque composition with age and disease, and exploration of impact on stroke and neurodegenerative disorders. Includes application of deep learning based segmentation and analysis approaches.
3. Development of new approaches to processing carotid artery images, including deep-learning analysis methods.

These projects are part of an ongoing, funded CIHR collaboration between researchers at the University of Calgary.

Recent Representative Publications

• Tardif JC, Spence JD, Heinonen TM, Moody A, Pressacco J, Frayne R, L'Allier P, Chow BJ, Friedrich M, Black SE, Fenster A, Rutt B, Beanlands R. Atherosclerosis imaging and the Canadian Atherosclerosis Imaging Network. Can J Cardiol 2013; 29: 297-303. doi: 10.1016/j.cjca.2012.09.017.
• Zhao XQ, Hatsukami TS, Hippe DS, et al.; AIM-HIGH Carotid MRI Sub-study Investigators. Clinical factors associated with high-risk carotid plaque features as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging in patients with established vascular disease (from the AIM-HIGH Study). Am J Cardiol. 2014; 114: 1412-9. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2014.08.001.
• Boesen ME, Singh D, Menon BK, Frayne R. A systematic literature review of the effect of carotid atherosclerosis on local vessel stiffness and elasticity. Atherosclerosis 2015 Nov; 243: 211-22. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2015.09.008.
• Boesen ME, Maior Neto LAS, Pulwicki A, Yerly J, Lebel RM, Frayne R. Fast spin echo imaging of carotid artery dynamics. Magn Reson Med. 2015; 74: 1103-9. doi: 10.1002/mrm.25494.
• Rodrigues L, Souza R, Boesen M, Rittner L, Frayne R, Lotufo R. Common carotid artery lumen segmentation from cine fast spin echo MR images. Proc SMRA 2017; 139.
• Boesen ME, Eswaradass PV, Singh D, Mitha AP, Goyal M, Frayne R, Menon BK. MR imaging of carotid webs. Neuroradiology 2017; 59: 361-365. doi: 10.1007/s00234-017-1797-z.
• Danko A, Souza R, Frayne R. Deep Learning for Domain‐invariant MR Carotid Artery Wall Segmentation. Proc SMRA 2019; 95.

Prospective Trainee Requirements

Interest in carotid artery disease and imaging with a degree (MSc preferred) in Biomedical, Computer, or Electrical Engineering. A good grasp of digital signal processing techniques, bio-mechanical modelling, and/or experience with numerical optimization methods would be highly beneficial. Must have good oral and written English communication skills.