FDADE: Flow direction algorithm with differential evolution for measurement of intima-media thickness of the carotid artery in ultrasound images

Abstract

The third leading cause of death globally is cardiovascular disease. Atherosclerosis, the build-up of plaque on the arterial wall, is the earliest sign of cardiovascular disease. The common carotid artery's Intima-Media Thickness (IMT) is primarily used as an early indicator of cardiovascular disease. This paper proposes a new method called FDADE by integrating the Flow Direction Algorithm (FDA) with Differential Evolution (DE) to segment images using multilevel thresholding. Otsu's interclass variance function is used in FDADE to establish optimal threshold values for measuring IMT in Carotid Artery Ultrasound Images. Carotid ultrasound images are subjected to a quantitative evaluation, and the results are compared to those obtained using other, more recent techniques. This method is reliable in measuring the IMT in carotid ultrasound pictures by the experimental investigation. Also, the proposed FDADE's performance is tested using a variety of benchmark issues of varying levels of complexity. Various tests are undertaken, such as the Wilcoxon rank-sum test for statistical implication, convergence curvatures, and the detachment amid the resolution earlier and later applying alteration approaches. The data are then compared and analyzed to demonstrate the superiority of the proposed FDADE over alternative algorithms.