In vivo imaging of vulnerable plaque with intravascular modalities: its advantages and limitations

Satoshi Kitahara; Yu Kataoka; Hiroki Sugane; Fumiyuki Otsuka; Yasuhide Asaumi; Teruo Noguchi; Satoshi Yasuda

doi:10.21037/cdt-20-238

In vivo imaging of vulnerable plaque with intravascular modalities: its advantages and limitations

Cardiovasc Diagn Ther. 2020 Oct;10(5):1461-1479. doi: 10.21037/cdt-20-238.

Authors

Satoshi Kitahara¹, Yu Kataoka¹, Hiroki Sugane², Fumiyuki Otsuka¹, Yasuhide Asaumi¹, Teruo Noguchi¹, Satoshi Yasuda¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, National Cerebral & Cardiovascular Center, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
² Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Chikamori Hospital, Kochi, Japan.

Abstract

In vivo imaging of plaque instability has been considered to have a great potential to predict future coronary events and evaluate the stabilization effect of novel anti-atherosclerotic medical therapies. Currently, there are several intravascular imaging modalities which enable to visualize plaque components associated with its vulnerability. These include virtual histology intravascular ultrasound (VH-IVUS), integrated backscatter IVUS (IB-IVUS), optical coherence tomography (OCT), near-infrared spectroscopy and coronary angioscopy. Recent studies have shown that these tools are applicable for risk stratification of cardiovascular events as well as drug efficacy assessment. However, several limitation exists in each modality. The current review paper will outline advantages and limitation of VH-IVUS, IB-IVUS, OCT, NIRS and coronary angioscopy imaging.

Keywords: Vulnerable plaque; integrated backscatter intravascular ultrasound (IB-IVUS), coronary angioscopy; intravascular imaging; near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS); optical coherence tomography (OCT); virtual-histology intravascular ultrasound (VH-IVUS).

Publication types

Review