? Atherosclerosis is the root cause behind most heart attacks and strokes, making it the number one cause of mortality and morbidity in the United States. Methods are needed that permit evaluation of atherosclerotic lesion composition and morphology in vivo, thereby enabling medical professionals to base treatment decisions on accurate risk assessments and facilitating pharmaceutical trials that evaluate drug effects directly on the lesions. ? ? The goal of this application is to help meet these needs by establishing product lines for imaging and analyzing atherosclerosis in vivo. Our strategy is to develop and market the complete set of products necessary to evaluate a target vessel. Then, with a single purchase of a bundled package, the medical professional can convert a generic imaging device into an advanced atherosclerosis-imaging suite. One such suite will include, for example, specially designed phased-array coils for high-resolution Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of carotid arteries, a head holder, a guide to MRI techniques for the carotid arteries, and a Quantitative Vascular Analysis System (QVAS TM) for computer-based evaluation of the imaging results. This proposal addresses the last component in this list, the QVAS TM system. ? ? To enable us to meet this goal, we have established a strategic relationship with the Vascular Imaging Laboratory (VIL) at the University of Washington. With the assistance of the VIL, we have previously developed a prototype version of the QVAS TM software under Phase I SBIR grant R43-HL70576. By continuing this collaborative effort within this proposal, we plan to establish the QVAS TM system as the premier analysis tool for carotid artery disease. ? ?
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