Intravascular imaging of atherosclerotic human coronaries in a porcine model: a feasibility study

Abstract

This human-to-porcine coronary xenograft model allows intravascular imaging of human coronary pathology under conditions of blood flow and motion, and may be used to develop technologies aimed at identifying high-risk plaques.

Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS): A Novel Tool for Intravascular Coronary Imaging

“…To evaluate the performance of the system during cardiac motion, a human coronary autopsy specimen was attached at the surface of a beating pig's heart and connected to the porcine circulation [47]. The prototype 3.2-F NIRS catheter was positioned inside the coronary segment and was able to correctly identify a spectrally distinct target attached to the surface of the graft, despite blood flow and cardiac motion [48,49].…”

Catheter-Based Near-Infrared Spectroscopy for Imaging of Lipid-Rich Plaques

“…In this study, human coronary autopsy specimens were attached to the surface of a pig's beating heart to simulate motion and connected on either end to the arterial and venous circulation to simulate physiologic pulsatile blood flow. By use of this model, the NIRS catheter was positioned inside the human coronary segment and was able to correctly identify the presence or absence of a Teflon target attached to the surface of the graft in all cases, despite blood flow and motion [18]. This prototype device was then coupled with a system that rotates and pulls back the optical probe to scan the entire circumference and length of a coronary artery.…”

Near-infrared spectroscopy for the detection of lipid core coronary plaques

“…In an early study, a human coronary autopsy specimen was attached to the surface of a pig's beating heart to simulate motion [36,37]. The prototype 3.2-F NIRS catheter was positioned inside the human coronary segment and was able to correctly identify a spectrally distinct target attached to the surface of the graft, despite blood fl ow and cardiac motion.…”