Role of imaging end points in atherosclerosis trials: focus on intravascular ultrasound

Abstract

Increasing attention has been focused on the appropriate role of surrogate markers in the development of novel anti-atherosclerotic therapies. Technological advances in imaging modalities allow for visualisation of the entire arterial wall. Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) has been increasingly employed to precisely quantify the extent of coronary atherosclerosis. Use of IVUS has provided a number of important insights into the natural history of atherosclerosis and the remodelling changes of the arterial wall in response to plaque accumulation. More recently, clinical trials have employed serial evaluations of arterial segments by IVUS to assess the impact of medical therapies.

Delineation of Atherosclerotic Plaque Using Subharmonic Imaging Filtering Techniques and a Commercial Intravascular Ultrasound System

“…4 Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) has been widely accepted as the preferred imaging modality for studying atherosclerosis due to its ability to provide real-time cross-sectional visualization of blood vessels at high resolution (100-150 µm). [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Characterizing vascular tissue and plaque composition can aid clinical decision making about the type of interventional procedure and subsequent pharmaceutical administration. 13 Several groups are actively developing IVUS techniques for characterizing the mechanical and acoustic properties of vascular tissue in vivo.…”