Ultrasound Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Ultrasound, including details on screening, diagnosis, pregnancy, detection.

In vivo plaque characterization using intravascular ultrasound-virtual histology in a porcine model of complex coronary lesions.

Granada JF, Wallace-Bradley D, Win HK, Alviar CL, Builes A, Lev EI, Barrios R, Schulz DG, Raizner AE, Kaluza GL

The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, The Methodist DeBakey Heart Center, Houston, TX 77584, USA. jgranada@tmh.tmc.edu

OBJECTIVE: To determine the accuracy of detection of different tissue types of intravascular ultrasound-virtual histology (IVUS-VH) in a porcine model of complex coronary lesions. METHODS AND RESULTS: Coronary lesions were induced by injecting liposomes containing human oxidized low-density lipoprotein into the adventitia of the arteries. IVUS-VH imaging was performed in vivo at 8.2+/-1.6 weeks after injection. A total of 60 vascular lesions were analyzed and compared with their correspondent IVUS-VH images. Correlation analysis was performed using linear regression models. Compared with histology, IVUS-VH correctly identified the presence of fibrous, fibro-fatty, and necrotic tissue in 58.33%, 38.33%, and 38.33% of lesions, respectively. The sensitivity of IVUS-VH for the detection of fibrous, fibro-fatty, and necrotic core tissue was 76.1%, 46%, and 41.1% respectively. A linear regression analysis performed for each individual plaque component did not show strong correlation that would allow significant prediction of individual values. CONCLUSIONS: In a porcine model of complex coronary lesions, IVUS-VH was not accurate in detecting the relative amount of specific plaque components within each individual corresponding histological specimen.

Published 18 January 2007 in Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol, 27(2): 387-93.
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