BACKGROUND Lesion composition, rather than size or volume, determines whether an atherosclerotic plaque will progress, regress, or rupture, but current techniques cannot provide precise quantitative information about lesion composition. We have developed a technique to assess the pathological state of human coronary artery samples by quantifying their chemical composition with near-infrared Ram...

conclusion safire reconstruction provided better coronary image quality and displayed the number, morphology, and surrounding lumen of calcium plaques more accurately than traditional fbp reconstruction, with safire3 achieving the best results. results the subjective ratings of image quality using safire1–safire5 reconstructions were significantly higher than those using fbp, with safire3 achie...

OBJECTIVES We evaluated the accuracy of a new 64-slice computed tomography (CT) scanner, compared with intravascular ultrasound, to visualize atherosclerosis in the proximal coronary system. BACKGROUND Noninvasive determination of plaque composition and plaque burden may be important to improve risk stratification. METHODS In 20 patients, a 64-slice CT scan (Sensation 64, Siemens Medical So...

Treatment of in-stent restenosis lesions, especially calcified with stent underexpansion, generally requires more complex techniques, such as rotational atherectomy. The case reported is a male patient 99% focal lesion at the origin first diagonal branch, where two stents were implanted 14 years ago. After failure balloon angioplasty alone, ablation plaque and part struts was performed using at...

Modern computed tomography (CT) systems afford sufficient spatial and temporal resolution for imaging of the heart and coronary arteries. The detection of coronary artery calcium (CAC) is relatively straightforward and it is applied to detect and quantify subclinical coronary atherosclerosis even in asymptomatic individuals. A large body of evidence has accumulated that uniformly attests to a h...

OBJECTIVE In a previous in vitro study we have demonstrated that atherosclerotic plaque components can be characterized with multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) based on differences in Hounsfield values (HV). Now we evaluated the use of MDCT in vivo to characterize and quantify atherosclerotic carotid plaque components compared with histology as reference standard. METHODS AND RESULTS Fi...

Accurate estimates of stress in an atherosclerotic lesion require knowledge of the material properties of its components (e.g., normal wall, fibrous plaque, calcified regions, lipid pools) that can only be approximated. This leads to considerable uncertainty in these computational predictions. A study was conducted to test the sensitivity of predicted levels of stress and strain to the paramete...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of CONFIRM registry series was to evaluate the use of orbital atherectomy (OA) in peripheral lesions of the lower extremities, as well as optimize the technique of OA. BACKGROUND Methods of treating calcified arteries (historically a strong predictor of treatment failure) have improved significantly over the past decade and now include minimally invasive endovascular tr...

AIM Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) has been suggested as a contributing factor for coronary atherosclerosis based on the previous cross-sectional studies and pathophysiologic background. However, a causal relationship between EAT and the development of non-calcified coronary plaque (NCP) has not been investigated. METHODS A total of 122 asymptomatic individuals (age, 56.0±7.6 years; male, 80...

AIMS The aim of this study was to perform quantitative analysis of the plaques of target lesions by integrated backscatter intravascular ultrasound (IB-IVUS) and to investigate the association between these data and the risk of post-procedural myocardial injury after stenting. METHODS AND RESULTS One hundred and fourteen consecutive patients who received elective stent implantations following...