A post-market, multi-vessel evaluation of the imaging of peripheral arteries for diagnostic purposeS comparing optical Coherence tomogrApy and iNtravascular ultrasound imaging (SCAN)

Abstract

Background: Intravascular imaging plays an important part in diagnosis of vascular conditions and providing insight for treatment strategy. Two main imaging modalities are intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and optical coherence tomography (OCT). The objective of this study was to prove non-inferiority of OCT imaging to IVUS images in matched segments of peripheral vessels in patients with suspected peripheral vascular disease. Methods: The SCAN study was a prospective, non-inferiority clinical study of matched IVUS and OCT images collected along defined segments of peripheral vessels from twelve subjects (mean age 68 ± 10.3 years; 10 men) displaying symptoms of vascular disease. Luminal diameters were measured by both imaging systems at the distal, middle, and proximal points of the defined segments. Three blinded interventional radiologists evaluated the quality of both imaging modalities in identifying layered structures (3-point grading), plaque (5-point grading), calcification (5-point grading), stent structure (3-point grading), and artifacts (3-point grading) from 240 randomly ordered images. Mean grading scores and luminal diameters were calculated and analyzed with Student's t-Test and Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon testing. Intrareader reproducibility was calculated by intraclass correlation (ICC) analysis. Results: The mean scoring of plaque, calcification, and vascular stent struts by the three readers was significant better in terms of image quality for OCT than IVUS (p < 0.001, p = 0.001, p = 0.004, respectively). The mean scores of vessel wall component visibility and artifacts generated by the two imaging systems were not significantly different (p = 0.19, p = 0.07, respectively). Mean vessel luminal diameter and area at three specific locations within the vessels were not significantly different between the two imaging modalities. No patient injury, adverse effect or device malfunction were noted during the study. Conclusions: Imaging by OCT provides the physician with better visualization of some vessel and plaque chacteristics, but both IVUS and OCT imaging are safe and effective methods of examining peripheral vessels in order to perform diagnostic assessment of peripheral vessels and provide information necessary for the treatment strategy of peripheral artery disease. Trial registration: NCT03480685 registered on 29 March 2018.

Optical coherence tomography and plaque morphology for revascularization of the superficial femoral artery

“…Furthermore, OCT imaging was used to identify stent length selection, stent position, and stent malposition during PCI, ultimately leading to procedural changes in 57% of cases before and 27% after PCI (17). OCT imaging provides clinicians higher resolution views of vascular structures than have been available in the past with ultrasound applications (18). Despite the positive clinical outcomes possible with use of the OCT catheter in coronary procedures, there have not yet been investigations into the use of OCT imaging of lower extremity arterial structures and plaque morphology with the goal of predicting clinical outcomes of successful crossing of chronic SFA occlusions.…”