Open AccessSpecific imaging of atherosclerotic plaque lipids with two-wavelength intravascular photoacoustics
Author(s) -
Min Wu,
Krista Jansen,
Antonius F.W. van der Steen,
Gijs van Soest
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
biomedical optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.362
H-Index - 86
ISSN - 2156-7085
DOI - 10.1364/boe.6.003276
Subject(s) - photoacoustic imaging in biomedicine , intravascular ultrasound , ex vivo , in vivo , medicine , photoacoustic spectroscopy , pathology , preclinical imaging , coronary atherosclerosis , coronary arteries , biomedical engineering , coronary artery disease , radiology , artery , optics , cardiology , biology , physics , microbiology and biotechnology
The lipid content in plaques is an important marker for identifying atherosclerotic lesions and disease states. Intravascular photoacoustic (IVPA) imaging can be used to visualize lipids in the artery. In this study, we further investigated lipid detection in the 1.7-µm spectral range. By exploiting the relative difference between the IVPA signal strengths at 1718 and 1734 nm, we could successfully detect and differentiate between the plaque lipids and peri-adventitial fat in human coronary arteries ex vivo. Our study demonstrates that IVPA imaging can positively identify atherosclerotic plaques using only two wavelengths, which could enable rapid data acquisition in vivo.