title: Intracoronary optical coherence tomography for the assessment of in-stent restenosis.
abstract: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a novel imaging modality in interventional cardiology. With its clear image quality, it has attracted considerable attention as a tool to accurately evaluate atherosclerosis and coronary stents in vivo. It has a 10-fold higher resolution compared to intravascular ultrasound and utilises near-infrared light that requires temporary blood clearance during image acquisition. We present a case of in-stent restenosis in a patient five years after percutaneous intervention. Optical coherence tomography clearly showed the mechanism behind the stent failure and helped appropriately plan the subsequent repeat intervention. The technology heralds an exciting advance in the invasive assessment of the coronary arteries that will improve our understanding of heart disease into the future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, The Northern Hospital, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Rinku
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rayoo
authors.forename: Zoe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tuer
authors.forename: Naveen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Barlis
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D023903:Coronary Restenosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015607:Stents; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000379:methods*