Figure 13

Critical stress on fibrous cap with respect to width of calcification gap and maximum deformation on fibrous cap for two-dimensional plaque-rupture analysis. A: The plot of critical stress σ _cr versus width of calcification gap d _cg reflects the decrease in plaque vulnerability for increasing occupancy of the calcification agglomerate (which is inversely correlated to d _cg). For d _fc at 0.05 mm as a conservative setting, a calcification gap value of > 0.04 mm causes stress levels to exceed 300 kPa and cause plaque rupture. B: Critical stress σ _cr versus maximum deformation D _max of fibrous cap for d _fc at 0.05 mm demonstrates that σ _cr becomes lower as d _cg minimizes the deformation. Here, D _max > 0.165 mm causes plaque rupture.