On the IVUS plaque volume error in coronary arteries when neglecting curvature

Plaque volume determined by common linear 3-D IVUS analysis systems will sh ow under- or overestimation in curved vessel segments because these systems approximate the true 3-D transducer pull-back trajectory by a straight lin e. We developed a mathematical model that showed that the error is primaril y dependent on the curvature of the pull-back trajectory and not on vessel tortuosity. Furthermore, we measured this error in vivo in the coronary art eries of 15 patients, comparing the plaque volume using a true 3-D reconstr uction method with that of the linear approach. The in vivo plaque volume e rror ranged from 2.3% to -1.2% for 15 coronary segments with lengths rangin g from 38.8 to 89.1 mm (62.2 +/- 13 mm). The volume error introduced by lin ear 3-D IVUS analysis systems is dependent on the curvature of the pull-bac k trajectory. The error measured in vivo was small and inversely related to segment length. (C) 2001 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Bio logy.