Intravascular photoacoustic imaging at 1.7 lm spectral band has shown promising capabilities for lipid-rich vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque detection. In this work, we report a high speed catheterbased integrated intravascular photoacoustic/intravascular ultrasound (IVPA/IVUS) imaging system with a 500 Hz optical parametric oscillator laser at 1725 nm. A lipid-mimicking phantom and atherosclerotic rabbit abdominal aorta were imaged at 1 frame per second, which is two orders of magnitude faster than previously reported in IVPA imaging with the same wavelength. Clear photoacoustic signals by the absorption of lipid rich deposition demonstrated the ability of the system for high speed vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques detection. V C 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.[http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4929584] Acute cardiovascular events are mostly due to blood clots or thrombus induced by the sudden rupture of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques within the coronary artery wall. 1,2Thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA) has a large, lipid-rich, necrotic core, which has been demonstrated as a primary type of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque with a high risk to ruptures.3-5 Accurate quantification of both the morphology and composition of a plaque are essential for early detection and optimal treatment in clinics. Several catheter-based intravascular imaging techniques have been investigated. Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) has been widely used in clinics 4-6 and provides structural information of the atherosclerotic plaque with good penetration depth and axial resolutions of approximately 70 lm. However, the contrast between the lipid-rich region and other soft tissues is limited.6-8 Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has a higher axial resolution of $10 lm, which is ideal for thin fibrous cap thickness measurements, but the penetration depth is less than 2 mm and generally requires blood to be flushed from the imaging area.9,10 Intravascular near-infrared reflection spectroscopy (NIRS) identifies the presence of lipid-rich plaque by detection of the reflection spectrum of the vascular wall, but lacks depth resolution. 11,12Photoacoustic (PA) imaging is a hybrid imaging technique that detects the ultrasound signals generated by the absorption of short pulsed laser inside tissue.13-15 Based on the optical absorption contrast of the tissues within the vessel wall, intravascular photoacoustic (IVPA) imaging for characterizing plaque compositions has been studied. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] Recently, due to the high optical absorption by first overtone of C-H bonds around 1720 nm, IVPA imaging of lipid-rich atherosclerotic plaque at 1.7 lm spectral band has been attracting great attention. 21,28 However, current IVPA imaging speed is limited by the repetition rate of commercial nanosecond lasers at 1.7 lm. Using a laser with 10 Hz repetition rate, one cross-sectional image requires tens of seconds to finish, which limits the translation of the technology for in vivo application. 16,18,21,23,24 In this letter, we report o...
Atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD) is the number one cause of death worldwide. The majority of CAD-induced deaths are due to the rupture of vulnerable plaques. Accurate assessment of plaques is crucial to optimize treatment and prevent death in patients with CAD. Current diagnostic techniques are often limited by either spatial resolution or penetration depth. Several studies have proved that the combined use of optical and ultrasonic imaging techniques increase diagnostic accuracy of vulnerable plaques. Here, we introduce an ultrafast optical-ultrasonic dual-modality imaging system and flexible miniaturized catheter, which enables the translation of this technology into clinical practice. This system can perform simultaneous optical coherence tomography (OCT)-intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging at 72 frames per second safely in vivo, i.e., visualizing a 72 mm-long artery in 4 seconds. Results obtained in atherosclerotic rabbits in vivo and human coronary artery segments show that this ultrafast technique can rapidly provide volumetric mapping of plaques and clearly identify vulnerable plaques. By providing ultrafast imaging of arteries with high resolution and deep penetration depth simultaneously, this hybrid IVUS-OCT technology opens new and safe opportunities to evaluate in real-time the risk posed by plaques, detect vulnerable plaques, and optimize treatment decisions.
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