OBJECTIVE: Plaque with dense inflammatory cells, including macrophages, thin fibrous cap and superficial necrotic/lipid core is thought to be prone-to-rupture. We report a time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TR-LIFS) technique for detection of such markers of plaque vulnerability in human plaques. METHODS: The autofluorescence of carotid plaques (65 endarterectomy patients) induced by a pulsed laser (337 nm, 0.7 ns) was measured from 831 distinct areas. The emission was resolved spectrally (360-550 nm range) and temporally (0.3 ns resolution) using a prototype fiber-optic TR-LIFS apparatus. Lesions were evaluated microscopically and quantified as to the % of different components (fibrous cap, necrotic core, inflammatory cells, foam cells, mature and degraded collagen, elastic fibers, calcification, and smooth muscle cell of the vessel wall). RESULTS: We determined that the spectral intensities and time-dependent parameters at discrete emission wavelengths (1) allow for discrimination (sensitivity >81%, specificity >94%) of various compositional and pathological features associated with plaque vulnerability including infiltration of macrophages into intima and necrotic/lipid core under a thin fibrous cap, and (2) show a linear correlation with plaque biochemical content: elastin (P<0.008), collagen (P<0.02), inflammatory cells (P<0.003), necrosis (P<0.004). CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate the feasibility of TR-LIFS as a method for the identification of markers of plaque vulnerability. Current findings enable future development of TR-LIFS-based clinical devices for rapid investigation of atherosclerotic plaques and detection of those at high-risk.
OBJECTIVE: Plaque with dense inflammatory cells, including macrophages, thin fibrous cap and superficial necrotic/lipid core is thought to be prone-to-rupture. We report a time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TR-LIFS) technique for detection of such markers of plaque vulnerability in human plaques. METHODS: The autofluorescence of carotid plaques (65 endarterectomy patients) induced by a pulsed laser (337 nm, 0.7 ns) was measured from 831 distinct areas. The emission was resolved spectrally (360-550 nm range) and temporally (0.3 ns resolution) using a prototype fiber-optic TR-LIFS apparatus. Lesions were evaluated microscopically and quantified as to the % of different components (fibrous cap, necrotic core, inflammatory cells, foam cells, mature and degraded collagen, elastic fibers, calcification, and smooth muscle cell of the vessel wall). RESULTS: We determined that the spectral intensities and time-dependent parameters at discrete emission wavelengths (1) allow for discrimination (sensitivity >81%, specificity >94%) of various compositional and pathological features associated with plaque vulnerability including infiltration of macrophages into intima and necrotic/lipid core under a thin fibrous cap, and (2) show a linear correlation with plaque biochemical content: elastin (P<0.008), collagen (P<0.02), inflammatory cells (P<0.003), necrosis (P<0.004). CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate the feasibility of TR-LIFS as a method for the identification of markers of plaque vulnerability. Current findings enable future development of TR-LIFS-based clinical devices for rapid investigation of atherosclerotic plaques and detection of those at high-risk.
Authors: B E Bouma; G J Tearney; H Yabushita; M Shishkov; C R Kauffman; D DeJoseph Gauthier; B D MacNeill; S L Houser; H T Aretz; E F Halpern; I-K Jang Journal: Heart Date: 2003-03 Impact factor: 5.994
Authors: C L de Korte; S G Carlier; F Mastik; M M Doyley; A F W van der Steen; P W Serruys; N Bom Journal: Eur Heart J Date: 2002-03 Impact factor: 29.983
Authors: Guillermo J Tearney; Hiroshi Yabushita; Stuart L Houser; H Thomas Aretz; Ik-Kyung Jang; Kelly H Schlendorf; Christopher R Kauffman; Milen Shishkov; Elkan F Halpern; Brett E Bouma Journal: Circulation Date: 2003-01-07 Impact factor: 29.690
Authors: Morteza Naghavi; Peter Libby; Erling Falk; S Ward Casscells; Silvio Litovsky; John Rumberger; Juan Jose Badimon; Christodoulos Stefanadis; Pedro Moreno; Gerard Pasterkamp; Zahi Fayad; Peter H Stone; Sergio Waxman; Paolo Raggi; Mohammad Madjid; Alireza Zarrabi; Allen Burke; Chun Yuan; Peter J Fitzgerald; David S Siscovick; Chris L de Korte; Masanori Aikawa; K E Juhani Airaksinen; Gerd Assmann; Christoph R Becker; James H Chesebro; Andrew Farb; Zorina S Galis; Chris Jackson; Ik-Kyung Jang; Wolfgang Koenig; Robert A Lodder; Keith March; Jasenka Demirovic; Mohamad Navab; Silvia G Priori; Mark D Rekhter; Raymond Bahr; Scott M Grundy; Roxana Mehran; Antonio Colombo; Eric Boerwinkle; Christie Ballantyne; William Insull; Robert S Schwartz; Robert Vogel; Patrick W Serruys; Goran K Hansson; David P Faxon; Sanjay Kaul; Helmut Drexler; Philip Greenland; James E Muller; Renu Virmani; Paul M Ridker; Douglas P Zipes; Prediman K Shah; James T Willerson Journal: Circulation Date: 2003-10-07 Impact factor: 29.690
Authors: C Stefanadis; K Toutouzas; M Vavuranakis; E Tsiamis; D Tousoulis; D B Panagiotakos; S Vaina; C Pitsavos; P Toutouzas Journal: Eur Heart J Date: 2002-11 Impact factor: 29.983
Authors: Jennifer Phipps; Yinghua Sun; Ramez Saroufeem; Nisa Hatami; Michael C Fishbein; Laura Marcu Journal: J Biomed Opt Date: 2011-09 Impact factor: 3.170
Authors: Yang Sun; Abhijit J Chaudhari; Matthew Lam; Hongtao Xie; Diego R Yankelevich; Jennifer Phipps; Jing Liu; Michael C Fishbein; Jonathan M Cannata; K Kirk Shung; Laura Marcu Journal: Biomed Opt Express Date: 2011-07-19 Impact factor: 3.732
Authors: Jennifer E Phipps; Deborah Vela; Taylor Hoyt; David L Halaney; J Jacob Mancuso; L Maximilian Buja; Reto Asmis; Thomas E Milner; Marc D Feldman Journal: JACC Cardiovasc Imaging Date: 2014-11-05