IMR Press / RCM / Volume 24 / Issue 2 / DOI: 10.31083/j.rcm2402039
Open Access Review
Intracoronary Imaging: Current Practice and Future Perspectives
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1 Department of Cardiology, University Hospital of Patras, 26504 Rion-Patras, Greece
2 Department of Cardiology, “Tzaneio'' Hospital, 18536 Athens, Greece
3 First Department of Cardiology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, “Hippocration'' General Hospital Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
4 Second Department of Cardiology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, “Attikon'' University Hospital, 12461 Athens, Greece
*Correspondence: gregtsig@hotmail.com (Grigorios Tsigkas)
These authors contributed equally.
Rev. Cardiovasc. Med. 2023, 24(2), 39; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.rcm2402039
Submitted: 11 November 2022 | Revised: 27 November 2022 | Accepted: 1 December 2022 | Published: 2 February 2023
Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Intracoronary imaging has brought new insight in the field of interventional cardiology. Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) are the most commonly used imaging modalities. Regarding their technical characteristics IVUS and OCT have similarities as well as differences, a fact that could have significant clinical implications. Both techniques play an important role in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) guidance and demonstrated superiority compared to intravascular coronary angiography (ICA) guidance alone. Furthermore, their use can notably assist coronary plaque evaluation; both provide additional information of plaque characteristics, which can lead to a better understanding of the cause of an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and better clinical outcomes. However, there is not enough clinical evidence for the superiority of one method compared to the other, something that is, also, reflected in the guidelines. In this review, we aim to compare role of IVUS and OCT in the different aspects of coronary artery disease (CAD), according to the latest scientific data. In addition, we present the future perspectives regarding the IVUS and OCT, with co-registration of the two methods or hybrid OCT-IVUS catheters.

Keywords
intravascular ultrasound
optical coherence tomography
coronary artery disease
PCI guidance
co-registration
hybrid
Figures
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