Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Xianglan Liu, Wujian He, Xulin Hong, Duanbin Li, Zhezhe Chen, Yao Wang, Zhaoyang Chen, Yi Luan, Wenbin Zhang
Summary: This study investigated the relationship between fibrous cap thickness (FCT) and plaque rupture and/or thrombosis using optical coherence tomography (OCT). It found that plaques with FCT between 65 and 80 μm were independently associated with an increased risk of plaque rupture and/or thrombosis compared with plaques with FCT > 80 μm.
BMC CARDIOVASCULAR DISORDERS
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Rui Lv, Akiko Maehara, Mitsuaki Matsumura, Liang Wang, Caining Zhang, Mengde Huang, Xiaoya Guo, Habib Samady, Don P. Giddens, Jie Zheng, Gary S. Mintz, Dalin Tang
Summary: Accurate quantification and prediction of plaque cap thickness using a combination of IVUS and OCT images showed higher accuracy and demonstrated the advantage of IO data in prediction. The study found that cap thickness data and prediction accuracy derived from IO data were significantly better than those from IVUS data.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Wenjie Zuo, Renhua Sun, Xiaoguo Zhang, Yangyang Qu, Zhenjun Ji, Yamin Su, Rui Zhang, Genshan Ma
Summary: Lower quantitative flow ratio (QFR) was found to be associated with vulnerable plaque features defined by intravascular imaging, suggesting that QFR may be a useful tool for ruling out high-risk plaques.
FRONTIERS IN CARDIOVASCULAR MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Feng-Ju Liu, Qing Chen, Yi Cheng
Summary: Noninvasive carotid ultrasound has a predictive role in the diagnosis of atherosclerotic vulnerable plaque using optical coherence tomography (OCT). It can help identify patients at risk of coronary plaque rupture and enable early diagnosis and treatment of adverse cardiovascular events.
QUANTITATIVE IMAGING IN MEDICINE AND SURGERY
(2023)
Article
Mathematics
Javier Martinez, Daniel Perez-Palau, Myriam Cilla, Neus Garrido, Ana Larranaga, Ignacio Perez-Rey
Summary: The occurrence of atheroma plaques in the arteries can lead to diseases such as atherosclerosis, necessitating a shorter time spent in locating and reconstructing the plaque. This paper presents a 3-D reconstruction of the atheroma plaque using an image processing algorithm on intravascular ultrasound images, providing an important decision-support tool in medical procedures. The results can contribute to early detection and prediction of atheroma plaques.
Review
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Flavio Giuseppe Biccire, Laura Gatto, Ylenia La Porta, Pasquale Pignatelli, Francesco Prati, Daniele Pastori
Summary: The clinical evidence strongly supports the efficacy of lipid lowering therapy in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the effects of these therapies on plaque composition and stability are still unclear. Intracoronary imaging (ICI) technologies are being used as a complement to conventional angiography to characterize plaque morphology and detect high-risk plaque features. Current studies show that pharmacological treatment can slow disease progression or promote plaque regression, depending on the degree of lipid lowering achieved. The introduction of high-intensity lipid lowering therapy has resulted in greater clinical benefit, but the atheroma regression shown in imaging trials appears more modest compared to the magnitude of clinical benefit.
JOURNAL OF CARDIOVASCULAR DEVELOPMENT AND DISEASE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Juhwan Lee, Gabriel T. R. Pereira, Yazan Gharaibeh, Chaitanya Kolluru, Vladislav N. Zimin, Luis A. P. Dallan, Justin N. Kim, Ammar Hoori, Sadeer G. Al-Kindi, Giulio Guagliumi, Hiram G. Bezerra, David L. Wilson
Summary: This study developed an automated method for detecting lipidous plaque and assessing fibrous cap thickness in IVOCT images. The method showed excellent discriminability in detecting lipid plaque and accurately measuring fibrous cap thickness. It has the potential to enable highly automated and comprehensive evaluations of TCFAs.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Review
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Prakriti Gaba, Bernard J. Gersh, James Muller, Jagat Narula, Gregg W. Stone
Summary: This article discusses the features of vulnerable plaques in coronary arteries, as well as the non-invasive and invasive diagnostic methods used to characterize them. It also explores the potential prognostic value of identifying vulnerable plaques and the future research needed to explore intensified pharmacological and focal treatments for these plaques.
NATURE REVIEWS CARDIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Xingru Huang, Retesh Bajaj, Yilong Li, Xin Ye, Ji Lin, Francesca Pugliese, Anantharaman Ramasamy, Yue Gu, Yaqi Wang, Ryo Torii, Jouke Dijkstra, Huiyu Zhou, Christos V. Bourantas, Qianni Zhang
Summary: In this paper, a novel perceptual organisation-aware selective transformer framework is proposed for accurate and robust segmentation of vessel walls in IVUS images. The framework utilizes temporal context-based feature encoders to extract efficient motion features of vessels and incorporates a perceptual organisation-aware selective transformer module to extract accurate boundary information. The obtained results are fused in a temporal constraining and fusion module to determine the most likely correct boundaries with robustness to morphology. Extensive evaluation on non-selected IVUS sequences demonstrates that the proposed methods outperform the state-of-the-art. The work has been integrated into a user-friendly software for automatic IVUS image segmentation.
MEDICAL IMAGE ANALYSIS
(2023)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Elvin Kedhi, Balazs Berta, Tomasz Roleder, Renicus S. Hermanides, Enrico Fabris, Alexander J. J. IJsselmuiden, Floris Kauer, Fernando Alfonso, Clemens von Birgelen, Javier Escaned, Cyril Camaro, Mark W. Kennedy, Bruno Pereira, Michael Magro, Holger Nef, Sebastian Reith, Arif Al Nooryani, Fernando Rivero, Krzysztof Malinowski, Giuseppe De Luca, Hector Garcia Garcia, Juan F. Granada, Wojciech Wojakowski
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the impact of optical coherence tomography (OCT)-detected thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA) on clinical outcomes of diabetes mellitus (DM) patients with fractional flow reserve (FFR)-negative lesions. The results showed that among DM patients with FFR-negative lesions, TCFA-positive patients had a five-fold higher rate of major adverse clinical events (MACE) compared to TCFA-negative patients, suggesting a potential paradigm shift for coronary artery disease risk stratification in DM patients.
EUROPEAN HEART JOURNAL
(2021)
Review
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Alexander G. Truesdell, Mirvat A. Alasnag, Prashant Kaul, Syed Tanveer Rab, Robert F. Riley, Michael N. Young, Wayne B. Batchelor, Akiko Maehara, Frederick G. Welt, Ajay J. Kirtane, ACC Interventional Counci
Summary: Coronary angiography has been the standard for diagnosing coronary artery disease and guiding percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Intravascular imaging (IVI) technologies are used in conjunction with angiography to better assess plaque morphology and optimize PCI. IVI has utility in preintervention assessment, procedural guidance, and postintervention evaluation. IVI's role in reducing major adverse cardiac events in complex lesions is emerging, and further studies are underway. This paper provides an overview of available IVI technologies, reviews evidence supporting their use in PCI, and advocates for broader utilization.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CARDIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Physiology
Milad Ghasemi, Robert D. Johnston, Caitriona Lally
Summary: This study introduces a novel algorithm to investigate the mechanical response of arterial tissue to the remodelling of collagen fibres, predicting the optimal fibre distribution at the carotid bifurcation in healthy and diseased cases. It explores the impact of different fibre configurations on plaque stability, providing critical insights into the collagen fibre patterns necessary for maintaining plaque stability in carotid arteries.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Flavio G. Biccire, Jonas Haner, Sylvain Losdat, Yasushi Ueki, Hiroki Shibutani, Tatsuhiko Otsuka, Ryota Kakizaki, Thomas M. Hofbauer, Robert-Jan van Geuns, Stefan Stortecky, George C. M. Siontis, Sarah Bar, Jacob Lonborg, Dik Heg, Christoph Kaiser, David Spirk, Joost Daemen, Juan F. Iglesias, Stephan Windecker, Thomas Engstrom, Irene Lang, Konstantinos C. Koskinas, Lorenz Raber
Summary: This study investigates the frequency and outcomes of triple regression in patients with acute myocardial infarction treated with high-intensity lipid-lowering therapy. The results suggest that triple regression occurs in about one-third of these patients and is associated with alirocumab treatment, higher baseline lipid content, and reduced cardiovascular events.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CARDIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Shaoshen Wang, Xing Zhang, Yang Liu, Ying Wang, Na Sun, Jie Yin, Jieli Bao, Gege Liao, Dongye Li, Tongda Xu, Fenglei Gao
Summary: An innovative SAmOCP nanoprobe with versatile functions has been developed for precise diagnosis of vulnerable atherosclerosis (AS) plaques at the molecular level. The SAmOCP nanoprobes actively recognize foam cells and specifically target vulnerable AS plaques in vivo. By utilizing the enhanced localized surface plasmon resonance effects, the encapsulated liquid perfluoropentane (PFP) can transform into abundant microbubbles, enabling greatly enhanced ultrasonic imaging capacity. The SAmOCP nanoprobes exhibit a triple-modality diagnostic efficacy of ultrasound/fluorescence/photothermal imaging, offering a promising solution for the diagnosis of vulnerable AS.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Bernhard Foellmer, Michelle C. C. Williams, Damini Dey, Armin Arbab-Zadeh, Pal Maurovich-Horvat, Rick H. J. A. Volleberg, Daniel Rueckert, Julia A. A. Schnabel, David E. E. Newby, Marc R. R. Dweck, Giulio Guagliumi, Volkmar Falk, Aldo J. Vazquez J. Mezquita, Federico Biavati, Ivana Isgum, Marc Dewey
Summary: In this Roadmap, Follmer et al. summarize the evidence for the application of AI technology to the imaging of vulnerable plaques in coronary arteries and discuss the current and future approaches to addressing the limitations of AI-guided coronary plaque imaging. AI has the potential to improve the assessment of images of vulnerable plaque in coronary arteries, but requires robust development, testing and validation.
NATURE REVIEWS CARDIOLOGY
(2023)
