Mechanical and structural characterization of atherosclerotic plaques

This thesis aims to characterize the heterogenous multicomponent elastic properties
of atherosclerotic human arteries, with a special focus on the fibrous plaque and wall
components, and to characterize the local failure properties of the fibrous plaque
tissues. The thesis is divided into two parts: the elastic property characterization (Part I),
and the structural and failure property characterization (Part II).
Part I describes a novel advanced approach, that combines tissue experimentation
with structural imaging and computational modeling, and its first use for obtaining
elastic properties of human atherosclerotic arteries. The approach enables the
multicomponent characterization of atherosclerotic arteries by testing them intact and
mechanically under physiological loading conditions. The application of the approach
for coronary plaques is reported in Chapter 2 and for carotid plaques in Chapter 3.
In Part II, the local failure properties of the fibrous plaque tissue and their correlation
to the underlying local collagen architecture are reported first. Chapter 4 outlines a
step-by-step guideline of the developed approach for the assessment of local collagen
and deformation assessment for fibrous plaque tissue. In Chapter 5, the application of
the approach for carotid artery fibrous plaque tissue is reported. Chapter 6 describes
the fusion of the two tissue characterization approaches (explained in Part I and Part II)
and extraction of the local, anisotropic elastic properties of carotid plaque fibrous
tissues to assess local strength analysis during the rupture initiation.