Coronary calcified plaque (CP) is both an important marker of atherosclerosis and major determinant of the success of coronary stenting. Intracoronary optical coherence tomography (OCT) with high spatial resolution can provide detailed volumetric characterization of CP. We present a semiautomatic method for segmentation and quantification of CP in OCT images. Following segmentation of the lumen, guide wire, and arterial wall, the CP was localized by edge detection and traced using a combined intensity and gradient-based level-set model. From the segmentation regions, quantification of the depth, area, angle fill fraction, and thickness of the CP was demonstrated. Validation by comparing the automatic results to expert manual segmentation of 106 in vivo images from eight patients showed an accuracy of 78±9%. For a variety of CP measurements, the bias was insignificant (except for depth measurement) and the agreement was adequate when the CP has a clear outer border and no guide-wire overlap. These results suggest that the proposed method can be used for automated CP analysis in OCT, thereby facilitating our understanding of coronary artery calcification in the process of atherosclerosis and helping guide complex interventional strategies in coronary arteries with superficial calcification.
We report on the design of a frequency domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) system, fiber optic imaging
catheter, and image processing algorithms for in vivo clinical use in the human coronary arteries. This technology
represents the third generation of commercially-available OCT system developed at LightLab Imaging Inc. over the last
ten years, enabling three-dimensional (3D) intravascular imaging at unprecedented speeds and resolutions for a
commercial system. The FD-OCT engine is designed around an exclusively licensed micro-cavity swept laser that was
co-developed with AXSUN Technologies Ltd. The laser's unique combination of high sweep rates, broad tuning ranges,
and narrow linewidth enable imaging at 50,000 axial lines/s with an axial resolution of < 16 μm in tissue. The disposable
2.7 French (0.9 mm) imaging catheter provides a spot size of < 30 μm at a working distance of 2 mm. The catheter is
rotated at 100 Hz and pulled back 50 mm at 20 mm/s to conduct a high-density spiral scan in 2.5 s. Image processing
algorithms have been developed to provide clinically important measurements of vessel lumen dimensions, stent
malapposition, and neointimal thickness. This system has been used in over 2000 procedures since August 2007 at over
40 clinical sites, providing cardiologists with an advanced tool for 3D assessment of the coronary arteries.
Intravascular optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been proven a powerful diagnostic tool for cardiovascular diseases. However, the optical mechanism for the qualitative observations are still absent. We address the fundamental issues that underlie the tissue characterization of OCT images obtained from coronary arteries. For this, we investigate both the attenuation and the backscattering properties of different plaque components of postmortem human cadaver coronary arteries. The artery samples are examined both from lumen surface using a catheter and from transversely cut surface using an OCT microscope, where OCT images could be matched to histology exactly. Light backscattering coefficient µb and attenuation coefficients µt are determined for three basic plaque types based on a single-scattering physical model: calcification (µb=4.9±1.5 mm−1, µt=5.7±1.4 mm−1), fibers (µb=18.4±6.4 mm−1, µt=6.4±1.2 mm−1), and lipid pool (µb=28.1±8.9 mm−1, µt=13.7±4.5 mm−1). Our results not only explain the origins of many qualitative OCT features, but also show that combination of backscattering and attenuation coefficient measurements can be used for contrast enhancing and better tissue characterization.
Combining light scatting spectroscopy (LSS) and spectroscopic optical coherence tomography (LS-SOCT) can provide a wealth of information. A theoretical model for analyzing the scattering in SOCT is proposed based on plane wave decomposition. Based on the model, we discuss the possibility of matching the physical characteristics of scatterers with observed spectroscopic signals. Many complicating factors are considered including the effects of scatterer size, incident light polarization, interference between the fields scattered from closely adjacent scatterers, and the numerical aperture of the OCT system. We found the modulation of the spectrum of the incident light by scattering of a plane wave from a single sphere is a good indicator of particle size and composition. We demonstrate that measuring wavelength-dependent scattering in SOCT can be used for particle sizing and contrast enhancement by differentiating cells in 3D cell culture.
Optics has played a key role in the rapidly developing field of molecular imaging. The spectroscopic nature and high-resolution imaging capabilities of light provide a means for probing biological morphology and function at the cellular and molecular levels. While the use of bioluminescent and fluorescent probes has become a mainstay in optical molecular imaging, a large number of other optical imaging modalities exist that can be included in this emerging field. In vivo imaging technologies such as optical coherence tomography and reflectance confocal microscopy have had limited use of molecular probes. In the last few years, novel nonfluorescent and nonbioluminescent molecular imaging probes have been developed that will initiate new directions in coherent optical molecular imaging. Classes of probes reviewed in this work include those that alter the local optical scattering or absorption properties of the tissue, those that modulate these local optical properties in a predictable manner, and those that are detected utilizing spectroscopic optical coherence tomography (OCT) principles. In addition to spectroscopic OCT, novel nonlinear interferometric imaging techniques have recently been developed to detect endogenous molecules. Probes and techniques designed for coherent molecular imaging are likely to improve the detection and diagnostic capabilities of OCT.
KEYWORDS: Absorption, Scattering, Optical coherence tomography, Spectroscopy, Signal attenuation, Tissues, Signal to noise ratio, Time-frequency analysis, Monte Carlo methods, Optical spectroscopy
We report a new algorithm for spectroscopic optical coherence tomography (SOCT) that is theoretically optimal for extracting the spectral absorption profiles from turbid media when absorbing contrast agents are used. The algorithm is based on least-squares fitting of the extracted total attenuation spectra to the known absorption spectra of the contrast agents, while suppressing the contributions from spectrally dependent scattering attenuation. By this algorithm, the depth resolved contrast agent concentration can be measured even in the presence of high scattering. The accuracy and noise tolerance of the algorithm are analyzed by Monte-Carlo simulation. The algorithm was tested using single and multi-layer tissue phantoms.
The potential for using plasmon-resonant gold nanorods as targeted contrast agents for in vivo coherent optical imaging is investigated. Separation of the relative strengths of light scattering and absorption of plasmon-resonant nanorods are measured with a double-integrating sphere system at 774 and 1304nm. The maximum likelihood ratio is then used to test the statistical significance of optical changes observed after application of contrast agents to tissue phantoms. Gold plasmon-resonant nanorods with a longitudinal resonance near 800nm are imaged within varying concentrations of intralipid using a 101dB sensitivity, 800nm optical coherence tomography (OCT) system. We estimate the minimum OCT detectible concentration of these nanorods (ca. 15 by 45nm) within 1.1% intralipid to be 25microg/mL of gold.
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