Serial Assessment of Tissue Precursors and Progression of Coronary Calcification Analyzed by Fusion of IVUS and OCT

Objectives The aim of this study was to assess calcium growth with fused grayscale intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), IVUS–virtual histology, and optical coherence tomography (OCT) from baseline to 5-year follow-up in patients treated with bioresorbable vascular scaffolds. Background IVUS and OCT have individual strengths in assessing plaque composition and volume. Fusion of images obtained using these methods could potentially aid in coronary plaque assessment. Methods Anatomic landmarks and endoluminal radiopaque markers were used to fuse OCT and IVUS images and match baseline and follow-up. Results Seventy-two IVUS–virtual histology and OCT paired matched cross-sectional in- and out-scaffold segments were fused ...