Randomized trial assesses the reliability of intravascular ultrasound for accurate imaging of atherosclerotic plaques, suggesting clinical utility in diagnosis and therapy guidance.
Key Points
The aim is to evaluate the reliability of catheter-based intravascular ultrasound for imaging coronary arteries affected by atherosclerosis.
Used a miniaturized prototype ultrasound system with a 1-mm transducer at 25 MHz to image human coronary arteries from necropsy specimens.
Compared ultrasound images of 54 atherosclerotic sites to formalin-fixed and fresh histological sections using digital video planimetry.
Correlations were established for various measurements including cross-sectional area and wall thickness across multiple angles.
Ultrasound and histological measurements correlated significantly for coronary artery cross-sectional area (r = 0.94, p < 0.0001).
Residual lumen cross-sectional area had a correlation of r = 0.85, and percent cross-sectional area had r = 0.84, all with p < 0.0001.
Ultrasound accurately predicted histological plaque composition in 96% of cases.