The vascular wall is not a simple coating tunic allowing the passage of blood through the lumen, it is an important physiological structure, with dedicated roles of the intima, media and adventitia, variable according to the caliber of the artery, from the aorta to the arterioles. If the multiple biological functions of the arterial wall and their primordial link in many vascular pathologies both common as atherosclerosis, and in rare diseases as vasculitis, is now well known, imaging of the arterial wall remains challenging.
There are many limitations to obtain accurate imaging of the arterial wall: there is significant movement due to arterial pulsatility, it is a thin wall, poorly vascularized, with vasa vasorum of small caliber. Finally, the structures are sometimes difficult to access, such as the thoracic aorta, the coronary arteries, or the intra-cerebral arteries. Nevertheless, progress in imaging is opening new horizons in the evaluation of the arterial wall: advances in ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, CT, or photoacoustic imaging, can increasingly identify key features of the wall, with a modifier impact on diagnosis, and patient care.
The purpose of this Research Topic is to present novel vascular wall imaging methods and the advantages of combining information from different modalities. This allows to benefit from the advantages of each technique, with the presentation of technological breakthrough. We also hope to achieve the goal of cross-linking various applications for translational research purposes to allow the reader an overview of the most advanced techniques available in the understanding of the arterial wall.
We welcome manuscripts dealing with vascular wall imaging with innovative technologies and various applications.
From a methodological point of view, we welcome a high level of engineering in imaging to overcome the current limitations of spatial and temporal resolution. From innovative technologies, we hope for a wide range of applications in the imaging of both the physiology of the wall and in the understanding of pathological phenomena such as atherosclerosis or aneurysms.
We welcome original research articles, methods, perspectives, opinions, and reviews on the following themes:
- imaging of the normal arterial wall, the vascular tree in humans and animals
- imaging of the pathophysiological processes of development of atherosclerosis and other lesions initiated within the arterial wall
- biomechanics of the arterial wall and understanding of the flow-wall interaction
- methodology to improve the spatial and temporal resolution of the arterial wall.
- informative biomarkers of pathology: prognostic markers of disease progression in humans or in animal models.
The vascular wall is not a simple coating tunic allowing the passage of blood through the lumen, it is an important physiological structure, with dedicated roles of the intima, media and adventitia, variable according to the caliber of the artery, from the aorta to the arterioles. If the multiple biological functions of the arterial wall and their primordial link in many vascular pathologies both common as atherosclerosis, and in rare diseases as vasculitis, is now well known, imaging of the arterial wall remains challenging.
There are many limitations to obtain accurate imaging of the arterial wall: there is significant movement due to arterial pulsatility, it is a thin wall, poorly vascularized, with vasa vasorum of small caliber. Finally, the structures are sometimes difficult to access, such as the thoracic aorta, the coronary arteries, or the intra-cerebral arteries. Nevertheless, progress in imaging is opening new horizons in the evaluation of the arterial wall: advances in ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, CT, or photoacoustic imaging, can increasingly identify key features of the wall, with a modifier impact on diagnosis, and patient care.
The purpose of this Research Topic is to present novel vascular wall imaging methods and the advantages of combining information from different modalities. This allows to benefit from the advantages of each technique, with the presentation of technological breakthrough. We also hope to achieve the goal of cross-linking various applications for translational research purposes to allow the reader an overview of the most advanced techniques available in the understanding of the arterial wall.
We welcome manuscripts dealing with vascular wall imaging with innovative technologies and various applications.
From a methodological point of view, we welcome a high level of engineering in imaging to overcome the current limitations of spatial and temporal resolution. From innovative technologies, we hope for a wide range of applications in the imaging of both the physiology of the wall and in the understanding of pathological phenomena such as atherosclerosis or aneurysms.
We welcome original research articles, methods, perspectives, opinions, and reviews on the following themes:
- imaging of the normal arterial wall, the vascular tree in humans and animals
- imaging of the pathophysiological processes of development of atherosclerosis and other lesions initiated within the arterial wall
- biomechanics of the arterial wall and understanding of the flow-wall interaction
- methodology to improve the spatial and temporal resolution of the arterial wall.
- informative biomarkers of pathology: prognostic markers of disease progression in humans or in animal models.
