ABSTRACT
Adoption in clinical practice has been limited by catheter size and the need to interrupt blood flow
Current technology allows image acquisition over a few seconds, with a rapid exchange system, and vessel occlusion is no longer required
The ability of light to penetrate tissue limits resolution to between 0.5 and 2 mm
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a light-based imaging technique, provides resolution in the range of 10-15 microns, an order of magnitude greater than IVUS thus allowing unparalleled in vivo detail on the structure of the vessel wall. FD-OCT technology provides rapid imaging of long vessel segments without the need for vessel occlusion. Despite its limited penetration depth, OCT could provides novel insights into the atherosclerotic process. During coronary interventions the high resolution, the thinner profi le of the probe, and the high speed of the pull-back of OCT offers a wealth of information, despite the incomplete defi nition of plaque burden, whose clinical utility needs validation. OCT has a high enough resolution to study vessel healing after coronary stent implantation and provide insights into modes of stent failure.
