Key result
MRI and intravascular MRI show promise for identifying vulnerable plaque components despite coronary imaging limitations.
MRI and intravascular MRI offer promising capabilities for characterizing atherothrombotic plaque components and identifying vulnerable lesions, despite current technical limitations in noninvasive coronary imaging.
Noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been used to determine vascular three-dimensional structure, detect the presence of subclinical atherosclerotic disease in high-risk patient subgroups, and optimize and follow therapy in individual patients. The outstanding soft-tissue-characterizing capabilities of MRI permit depiction of various components of atherothrombotic plaque, including lipid, fibrous tissue, calcium, and thrombus formation. However, noninvasive MRI visualization of coronary arteries is currently limited by the small size of the coronary arteries, the deep arterial location, and arterial motion. The combination of MR imaging and molecular probes offers exciting possibilities of direct visualization of biologic processes within atherosclerotic tissue. The self-contained intravascular MRI probe appears to hold promise in the identification of high-risk coronary atherosclerotic lesions with increased superficial lipid content.
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Wilensky et al. (2006) conducted a review in Atherosclerotic disease. Magnetic Resonance and Intravascular Magnetic Resonance was evaluated. Magnetic resonance imaging and intravascular MRI hold promise for detecting vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques and characterizing plaque components, despite current limitations in coronary visualization.
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