Toward Clinical μOCT—A Review of Resolution-Enhancing Technical Advances

Abstract Intravascular optical coherence tomography (IVOCT) has made significant clinical impact, providing a method of visualizing coronary plaques, optimizing percutaneous coronary intervention, and monitoring treatment results. Achieving cellular resolution in cardiovascular optical coherence tomography (OCT) adds even greater utility; thin-cap fibroatheromas (TCFA) that include microcalcifications, cholesterol crystals, and macrophages are hypothesized to correlate with rupture potential, yet are too small to be imaged by conventional OCT. In this review, we survey new developments in the optical technology that may contribute to the advancement of IVOCT into the microscopic domain, including new light sources and optical configurations. We also describe recent progress in micro-OCT (μOCT), a high-resolution OCT implementation developed in our laboratory that utilizes many of these advances to achieve 1-μm resolution.
Source: Current Cardiovascular Imaging Reports - Category: Radiology Source Type: research