Innovative Imaging System Helps Detect Coronary Plaques

A new one-step cardiac catheter uses intravascular ultrasonography (IVUS) technology to generate a grayscale image of the coronary artery, helping clinicians detect and characterize lipid core coronary plaques (LCPs).

The LipiScan IVUS coronary imaging system is based on near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy with added IVUS capabilities; the combined dual NIR/IVUS system provides a chemogram that projects a map of LCPs within the imaged vessel. The system is designed to allow imaging of the coronary arteries in patients undergoing cardiac catheterization without the need to interrupt the flow of blood. This ability to characterize coronary plaque structure and composition can help guide clinicians during stent placement, as well as identify fatty plaques, which can complicate stenting procedures and are also suspected to cause most postprocedural myocardial infarctions (MIs).

NIR imaging works by delivering light through blood into the coronary artery and measuring the amount of light reflected from the wall. The reflection of different amounts of light at different wavelengths provides information about the wall of the artery that is converted into an image. The rapid acquisition speed for each pixel of the image (1/200 of a second) freezes the motion of the heart, and automatic rotation and pullback permits scanning of the artery in less than 2 minutes. IVUS imaging enhances NIR spectroscopy by providing visualization of the coronary artery lumen, assessment of the structural features of coronary plaque, and identification of proper stent sizing and expansion. The LipiScan IVUS system is a product of InfraReDx (Burlington, MA, USA), and has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"We are pleased to have achieved the important milestone of FDA marketing clearance for LipiScan IVUS, our multimodality, single-catheter device that provides improved characterization of coronary plaques,” said James E. Muller, M.D., founder and CEO of InfraReDx. "Interventional cardiologists adopting the LipiScan IVUS system will be able to quickly and accurately identify the presence and structural features of lipid-core plaques in the coronary arteries. Such knowledge will assist them in the conduct of the stenting procedure and provide information useful in the treatment of patients poststenting.”

"The inclusion of plaque structure data via LipiScan IVUS further elevates the system's practical clinical utility for characterizing coronary lesions and identifying lipid core plaque,” said James Goldstein, M.D., of William Beaumont Hospital (Royal Oak, MI, USA), who is also a consultant for InfraReDx. "This information can better inform technique and treatment decisions for my patients today, and, in the future, holds the promise to help prevent heart attacks and sudden death.”

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InfraReDx
William Beaumont Hospital