We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
GLOBETECH PUBLISHING LLC

Download Mobile App




Coronary Imaging System Developed for the Identification of Plaques

By MedImaging staff writers
Posted on 20 May 2008
A new device utilizes near-infrared spectroscopy to identify lipid core-containing plaques of interest in the coronary arteries in patients already undergoing cardiac catheterization. Such plaques, which cannot be detected by typically used tests such as a treadmill examination and even coronary angiography, are suspected to be the cause of most sudden cardiac deaths and non-fatal heart attacks.

InfraReDx, Inc. (Burlington, MA, USA) has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its catheter-based LipiScan coronary imaging system. The availability of this novel tool culminates a decade-long biomedical engineering effort to create an instrument that could perform spectroscopy in the arteries of patients with coronary artery disease. The identification of the chemical composition of coronary plaques is expected to be of value to cardiologists in the selection of medical, stenting, or surgical therapy for coronary lesions. The device is also expected to be of value to the pharmaceutical industry as a means to assess the effect of novel anti-atherosclerotic agents on lipid-core plaque burden.

"The InfraReDx team is pleased that the LipiScan system has been validated in tissue samples and a clinical study and has been cleared by the FDA for use in patients. We understand the great potential of interventional cardiology, and anticipate that this novel tool will assist physicians with the complex decisions they face in the management of patients with coronary artery disease,” stated James E. Muller, M.D., cardiologist, co-founder, president and CEO of InfraReDx.

"There is a real unmet medical need to identify lipid core-containing plaques of interest in the coronary arteries, which before now we could not do,” noted James Goldstein, M.D., director of research and education at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, who is also an investigator in the SPECTACL clinical trial for the device and a consultant for InfraReDx. "The ability to detect lipid core containing plaques of interest may go a long way in providing information to help prevent heart attacks in the near future.”

Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is commonly used to measure the chemical composition of unknown substances. The LipiScan coronary imaging system utilizes advanced optical technology, much of it developed for telecom uses, to deliver and retrieve NIR light from coronary plaques. The light reflected back at different wavelengths is analyzed to detect the chemical composition of the coronary plaques. At the completion of the catheter pullback, the LipiScan console instantly displays the scan results on a "chemogram,” a digital color-coded map of the location and intensity of lipid core containing plaques of interest in the artery. A Lipid Core Burden Index is also reported, which is a measure of the total amount of lipid core containing plaques of interest in the coronary artery. The LipiScan catheter interrogates each artery in less than two minutes and does not require the interruption of the flow of blood.

The SPECTACL clinical trial documented the similarity of near-infrared spectra obtained from 106 patients undergoing coronary angiography compared to spectra obtained in autopsy specimens in which the gold standard of histology was available.


Related Links:
InfraReDx
Ultra-Flat DR Detector
meX+1717SCC
New
High-Precision QA Tool
DEXA Phantom
Silver Member
X-Ray QA Meter
T3 AD Pro
New
Diagnostic Ultrasound System
DC-80A

Channels

Ultrasound

view channel
Image: The new implantable device for chronic pain management is small and flexible (Photo courtesy of The Zhou Lab at USC)

Wireless Chronic Pain Management Device to Reduce Need for Painkillers and Surgery

Chronic pain affects millions of people globally, often leading to long-term disability and dependence on opioid medications, which carry significant risks of side effects and addiction.... Read more

Nuclear Medicine

view channel
Image: The diagnostic tool could improve diagnosis and treatment decisions for patients with chronic lung infections (Photo courtesy of SNMMI)

Novel Bacteria-Specific PET Imaging Approach Detects Hard-To-Diagnose Lung Infections

Mycobacteroides abscessus is a rapidly growing mycobacteria that primarily affects immunocompromised patients and those with underlying lung diseases, such as cystic fibrosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary... Read more

Imaging IT

view channel
Image: The new Medical Imaging Suite makes healthcare imaging data more accessible, interoperable and useful (Photo courtesy of Google Cloud)

New Google Cloud Medical Imaging Suite Makes Imaging Healthcare Data More Accessible

Medical imaging is a critical tool used to diagnose patients, and there are billions of medical images scanned globally each year. Imaging data accounts for about 90% of all healthcare data1 and, until... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.