Several imaging techniques aim at identifying features of carotid plaque instability but come with limitations, such as the use of contrast agents, long examination times and poor portability. Multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT) employs light and sound to resolve lipid and hemoglobin content, both features associated with plaque instability, in a label-free, fast and highly portable way. Herein, 5 patients with carotid atherosclerosis, 5 healthy volunteers and 2 excised plaques, were scanned with handheld MSOT. Spectral unmixing allowed visualization of lipid and hemoglobin content within three ROIs: whole arterial cross-section, plaque and arterial lumen. Calculation of the fat-blood-ratio (FBR) value within the ROIs enabled the differentiation between patients and healthy volunteers (P = 0.001) and between plaque and lumen in patients (P = 0.04). Our results introduce MSOT as a tool for molecular imaging of human carotid atherosclerosis and open new possibilities for research and clinical assessment of carotid plaques.

几种成像技术旨在识别颈动脉斑块不稳定性的特征，但存在局限性，例如使用造影剂、检查时间长和便携性差。多光谱光声断层扫描 (MSOT) 利用光和声以无标记、快速和高度便携的方式解析脂质和血红蛋白含量，这两种特征都与斑块不稳定性有关。在此，使用手持式 MSOT 扫描了 5 名颈动脉粥样硬化患者、5 名健康志愿者和 2 个切除的斑块。光谱分离允许在三个 ROI 内可视化脂质和血红蛋白含量：全动脉横截面、斑块和动脉管腔。计算 ROI 内的脂肪血比 (FBR) 值可以区分患者和健康志愿者 (P = 0. 001) 以及患者的斑块和管腔之间 (P = 0.04)。我们的结果介绍了 MSOT 作为人类颈动脉粥样硬化分子成像的工具，并为颈动脉斑块的研究和临床评估开辟了新的可能性。