Toward better treatment of clogged arteries
Real-time detailed monitoring of angioplasty balloon deformation may lead to improved medical devices to treat hardened artery walls. Intravascular optical coherence tomography (IVOCT) is a catheter-based technique that provides detailed cross-sectional imaging of the artery wall with a resolution of the order of ten micrometers. The clinical relevance of IVOCT has been demonstrated in many studies for the diagnosis and treatment monitoring of atherosclerosis1 (hardening and/or thickening of arteries by deposited plaques of cholesterol and other lipids, inflammatory cells, and calcium deposits). The technology is mature enough to be distributed commercially.2 Images may be acquired during a ‘pullback ...
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