Intravascular Imaging Current Applications And Research Developments

Limitations of angiography, the traditional invasive method for assessing vascular pathology, have led to an interest in alternative invasive techniques that visualize the arterial wall and allow characterization of plaque type. These alternative techniques, which include intravascular ultrasound, angioscopy, thermography, optical coherence tomography, near infrared spectroscopy, and intravascular magnetic resonance imaging are able to provide valuable information regarding plaque vulnerability, the composition of plaque, and luminal morphology. Intravascular Imaging: Current Applications and Research Developments presents all available intravascular imaging techniques and analyzes their impact in clinical practice and research. This publication aims to inform medical specialists, biomedical engineers, bioinfomaticians, and researchers of current developments and future trends in intravascular imaging techniques, promoting continued evolution of this discipline.

This book provides a state-of-the-art overview of the combined use of imaging modalities to obtain important functional and morphological information on intravascular disease and enhance disease detection. It discusses the integration of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS, intravascular optical coherence tomography (OCT), intravascular photoacoustic imaging (IVPA) and acoustic radiation force optical coherence elastography (ARF-OCE), and introduces the integration of multimodality imaging systems, such as IR and florescence. It includes the latest research advances and numerous imaging photos to offer readers insights into current intravascular applications. It is a valuable resource for students, scientists and physicians wanting to gain a deeper understanding of multimodality imaging tools.

Diagnostic and Therapeutic Ultrasound has recently taken an explosive growth for better safer, economic, mobile and high quality healthcare. This technology is very appealing for medical applications because it is non-ionizing, non-invasive and it is available in most of the medical and clinical facilities. Its low cost, when compared with other medical image modalities, makes it one of the preferred tools for medical monitoring, follow-up and diagnosis. Besides the traditional fields of Cardiology and Obstetrics, where it is extensively used for long time, it has became also very useful in the diagnosis of diseases of the prostate, liver and coronaries and carotids atherosclerosis. However, Ultrasound images present poor quality, very low signal to noise ratio and a lot of artifacts. The extraction of useful information from Ultrasound data for diagnosis is a challenge task that makes this medical image modality a very active field of research. The difficulties are being overcome and novel and advanced methods are being proposed for detection, characterization and segmentation of abnormalities in several organs. In fact, Ultrasound application range is vast, covering almost all organs of the human body, including the brain where Tran-cranial Doppler Ultrasound is very important to assess the brain vasculature. This book presents some of the recent advances in Ultrasound imaging technology covering several organs and techniques in a Biomedical Engineering (BME) perspective. The focus of the book is in the algorithms, methodologies and systems developed by multidisciplinary research teams of engineers and physicians for Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD) purposes. Cardiovascular and Cancer, the most common life-threatening diseases in western countries, are two of the most important topics focused in the book. However, other advanced issues are also presented such as Intravascular Ultrasound, 3D US and Ultrasound in Computer-Aided Surgery (CAS). Some chapters are direct contributions from medical research groups where Ultrasound has also received great attention in the last decade. By this, new techniques based on Ultrasound were introduced in the clinical practice for diagnosis and therapeutics, mainly in hospital facilities.

Computing and Visualization for Intravascular Imaging and Computer-Assisted Stenting presents imaging, treatment, and computed assisted technological techniques for diagnostic and intraoperative vascular imaging and stenting. These techniques offer increasingly useful information on vascular anatomy and function, and are poised to have a dramatic impact on the diagnosis, analysis, modeling, and treatment of vascular diseases. After setting out the technical and clinical challenges of vascular imaging and stenting, the book gives a concise overview of the basics before presenting state-of-the-art methods for solving these challenges. Readers will learn about the main challenges in endovascular procedures, along with new applications of intravascular imaging and the latest advances in computer assisted stenting. Brings together scientific researchers, medical experts, and industry partners working in different anatomical regions Presents an introduction to the clinical workflow and current challenges in endovascular Interventions Provides a review of the state-of-the-art methodologies in endovascular imaging and their applications Poses outstanding questions and discusses future research

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive, noncontact imaging modality that uses coherent gating to obtain high-resolution cross-sectional images of the microstructure of biological tissues. Recently, OCT has been considered as a promising technique for intravascular imaging, since it provides direct visualization of vessel walls with resolutions of 1-2 orders higher than intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). However, there are two major drawbacks for OCT: limited penetration depth makes it difficult to image the whole depth of atherosclerotic plaques and clearance of blood is required since the presence of blood can seriously attenuate OCT signals. OCT and ultrasound (US) are complementary in the application of intravascular imaging. This research focuses on the development of an integrated OCT-US system for the application of intravascular imaging. By combining the two imaging modalities, the system is capable of offering simultaneous OCT and ultrasound images in real-time, thus allowing for images with both high resolution and a deep imaging depth which will significantly improve diagnostic accuracy in the detection of atherosclerosis. OCT-US probes that combine OCT optical components and US transducers have been developed. Different probe designs have been realized based on different applications; and the latest version of the miniature design aimed at human coronary artery imaging has a maximum outer diameter of only 0.69mm. A rotary joint that combines a fiber optic rotary joint and electrical slip ring has been developed, so that both optical and electrical signals can be transmitted between the stationary and rotary parts of the system. The integrated imaging system provides real-time simultaneous OCT and US data acquisition, processing and image display by using a single two-channel data acquisition board and a home-developed OCT-US program. In vitro human coronary specimen imaging and in vivo animal studies have been performed to demonstrate the feasibility of our OCT-US system in the application of intravascular imaging. Last but not least, a 3-dimensional high speed endoscopic OCT system has been developed for the application of airway imaging. In vivo animal studies of smoke-induced early airway injury were performed using this system. Image processing software has been successfully developed for motion artifact removal, image reconstruction and quantitative analysis of airway thickness.

Intravascular Ultrasound: From Acquisition to Advanced Quantitative Analysis covers topics of the whole imaging pipeline, ranging from the definition of the clinical problem and image acquisition systems to image processing and analysis, including the assisted clinical-decision making procedures and treatment planning (stent deployment and follow up). Atherosclerosis, a disease of the vessel wall that produces vessel narrowing and obstruction, is the major cause of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack or stroke. This book covers all aspects of this imaging tool that allows for the visualization of internal vessel structures and the quantification and characterization of coronary plaque. Provides an introduction to the clinical workflow and current challenges in endovascular interventions Presents a review of the state-of-the-art methodologies in IVUS imaging and their applications Includes a rich analysis of the current and potential future connections between the academic, clinical and industrial fields

This book focuses on the coronary bioresorbable scaffold, a new interventional treatment for coronary artery disease, differentiated from a permanent metallic stent. The book provides an overview of the technology including non-clinical studies and clinical evidences in order to help clinicians understand the appropriate application of the technology and the optimal techniques of implantation. It covers the basics of bioresorbable scaffolds; bench test results; preclinical studies; clinical evidences; and tips and tricks of implantation.

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is an imaging technique used during coronary angiography. This book provides a systematic introduction to coronary imaging with (IVUS). It is divided into two integrated and extensively cross-referenced parts, the Atlas and the Manual. The Manual describes the rationale, method, and interpretation of IVUS imaging for

As technology evolves and electronic data becomes more complex, digital medical record management and analysis becomes a challenge. In order to discover patterns and make relevant predictions based on large data sets, researchers and medical professionals must find new methods to analyze and extract relevant health information. Big Data Analytics in Bioinformatics and Healthcare merges the fields of biology, technology, and medicine in order to present a comprehensive study on the emerging information processing applications necessary in the field of electronic medical record management. Complete with interdisciplinary research resources, this publication is an essential reference source for researchers, practitioners, and students interested in the fields of biological computation, database management, and health information technology, with a special focus on the methodologies and tools to manage massive and complex electronic information.