Integrated intravascular optical coherence tomography (OCT) - ultrasound (US) catheter for characterization of atherosclerotic plaques in vivo.

A miniature integrated intravascular optical coherence tomography (OCT) - ultrasound (US) catheter for real-time imaging of atherosclerotic plaques has been developed, providing high resolution and deep tissue penetration at the same time. This catheter, with an outer diameter of 1.18mm, is suitable for imaging in human coronary arteries. The first in vivo 3D imaging of atherosclerotic microstructure in a rabbit abdominal aorta obtained by an integrated OCT-US catheter is presented. In addition, in vitro imaging of cadaver coronary arteries were conducted to demonstrate the imaging capabilities of this integrated catheter to classify different atherosclerotic plaque types.