Technologies

Technical Summary

Acute myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death remain a major cause of mortality in the United States. Despite aggressive anti-atherosclerotic therapies, patients with coronary artery disease continue to experience significant 1-year rates of myocardial infarction (7%) and death (4%). Frequently these coronary events result from the rupture of thin-cap fibroatheromas that are bulky, non-flow limiting, and reside largely in the vessel wall. Currently, these lesions cannot be identified with angiography; however, data indicates that the local hemodynamic environment [e.g., low and oscillatory wall shear stress (WSS)] is likely a contributor to the progression and vulnerability of coronary segments. While current angiographic and imaging technologies can measure plaque severity, burden, and composition, these modalities cannot model the vessel hemodynamic environment and incorporate such data to track plaque progression and predict the likelihood of rupture.

This comprehensive, minimally invasive coronary imaging system can identify areas vulnerable to rapid progression and future plaque rupture by calculating the local WSS values. Once identified, such vulnerable segments could be treated with percutaneous plaque modifiers, sealing agents, vascular stents, as well as systemic medical therapies (e.g. statins, reductase inhibitors, ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers). Furthermore, the imaging system is capable of monitoring and quantifying the effect of such therapies, thus functioning as a surrogate marker for therapeutic effects of vulnerable plaque therapy.