Comparative Quantification of Arterial Lipid by Intravascular Photoacoustic-Ultrasound Imaging and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy-Intravascular Ultrasound

• DOI: 10.1007/s12265-018-9849-2
• Publication Date: 2018-11-28T10:06:39Z
• Authors: Ayeeshik Kole; Yingchun Cao; Jie Hui; Islam A. Bolad; Mouhamad Alloosh; Ji-Xin Cheng; Michael Sturek
• Keywords: Male; 0301 basic medicine; Swine; Intravascular imaging; Lipid core plaque; Iliac Artery; Photoacoustic Techniques; 03 medical and health sciences; Near-infrared spectroscopy; Predictive Value of Tests; Animals; Humans; Ultrasonography, Interventional; Metabolic Syndrome; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; Perivascular adipose tissue; Reproducibility of Results; Middle Aged; Atherosclerosis; Lipids; Plaque, Atherosclerotic; 3. Good health; Disease Models, Animal; Early Diagnosis; Swine, Miniature; Original Article; Female; Photoacoustic imaging

Intravascular photoacoustic-ultrasound (IVPA-US) imaging and near-infrared spectroscopy-intravascular ultrasound (NIRS-IVUS) are two hybrid modalities that detect arterial lipid, with comparison necessary to understand the relative advantages of each. We performed in vivo and ex vivo IVPA-US imaging of the iliac arteries of Ossabaw swine with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and lean swine to investigate sensitivity for early-stage atherosclerosis. We repeated imaging ex vivo with NIRS-IVUS for comparison to IVPA-US and histology. Both modalities showed significantly greater lipid in MetS vs. lean swine, but only IVPA-US localized the lipid as perivascular. To investigate late-stage atherosclerosis, we performed ex vivo IVPA-US imaging of a human coronary artery with comparison to NIRS-IVUS and histology. Two advanced fibroatheromas were identified, with agreement between IVPA-measured lipid area and NIRS-derived lipid content. As confirmed histologically, IVPA-US has sensitivity to detect lipid content similar to NIRS-IVUS and provides additional depth resolution, enabling quantification and localization of lipid cores within plaques.