ABSTRACT
This chapter overviews the current status of hybrid optical imaging techniques utilized within cardiovascular medicine. It focuses on emerging multimodality intravascular imaging techniques. Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging has provided a tool for arterial assessment within the catheterization laboratory for several decades, particularly within Japan, Europe, and the United States. Coronary angioscopy (CAS) represents an alternative approach for intravascular imaging, enabling clear visualization of the luminal arterial wall. Fluorescence imaging techniques have also been introduced as a means of enhancing the ability to detect atherosclerotic plaque composition. Conventional scintigraphic techniques, including positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), have a wide array of applications within cardiovascular imaging. Carotid atherosclerosis has been widely studied as a result of both its proximity to the skin surface and, more importantly, its established correlation with cerebrovascular events and coronary atherosclerosis.
