Abstract
A feasibility for OCT in the identification of vulnerable plaque, the plaques which lead to most heart attacks, has been previously demonstrated (Circulation 93,1206-1213, 1996, Heart 77:397-404, 1997, Heart 82:128-133, 1999). However, poor imaging through blood remains the most significant disadvantage for OCT for vascular imaging. Since blood scatters primarily due to a mismatch in the refractive index between the cytoplasm and the serum, the refractive index of the serum was raised to increase the transparency of blood. Dextran and IV contrast were the test compounds used, which significantly increased penetration. The effect was not due to changes in the red cell concentration or red cell size, at least in the case of dextran, because changes were not significantly different then the saline control. Therefore, this study suggests a feasibility of index matching for increasing OCT imaging through blood.
© 2000 Optical Society of America
PDF ArticleMore Like This
Kathleen Saunders, Christine Jesser, Ravi Ghanta, Costas Pitris, James Fujimoto, and Mark Brezinski
MB2 Biomedical Optical Spectroscopy and Diagnostics (BIOMED) 2000
Stephen A. Boppart, Wolfgang Drexler, Uwe Morgner, Franz X. Kärtner, and James G. Fujimoto
MSI56 In Vivo optical Imaging at the NIH (IVOI) 1999
Jadwiga Rogowska, Nirlep Patel, James G. Fujimoto, and Mark E. Brezinski
PD20 Biomedical Topical Meeting (BIOMED) 2002