title: A novel method to assess coronary artery bifurcations by OCT: cut-plane analysis for side-branch ostial assessment from a main-vessel pullback.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In coronary bifurcations assessment, evaluation of side-branch (SB) ostia by an optical coherence tomography (OCT) pullback performed in the main branch (MB) could speed up lesion evaluation and minimize contrast volume. Dedicated software that reconstructs the cross-sections perpendicular to the SB centreline could improve this assessment. We aimed to validate a new method for assessing the SB ostium from an OCT pullback performed in the MB.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-one sets of frequency-domain OCT pullbacks from 28 patients, both from the MB and the SB of a coronary artery bifurcation were analysed. Measurements of the SB ostium from the SB pullback were used as a reference. Measurements of the SB ostium from the MB pullback were then performed in a laboratory setting by (i) conventional analysis and (ii) cut-plane analysis, and the measurement error for each analysis was estimated. Correlations of SB ostium measurements acquired from the MB pullback in comparison with reference measurements acquired from the SB pullback were higher with cut-plane analysis compared with conventional analysis, albeit not reaching statistical significance (area: rcut-plane = 0.927 vs. rconventional = 0.870, P = 0.256; mean diameter: rcut-plane = 0.918 vs. rconventional = 0.788, P = 0.056; minimum diameter: rcut-plane = 0.841 vs. rconventional = 0.812, P = 0.734; maximum diameter: rcut-plane = 0.770 vs. rconventional = 0.635, P = 0.316). Cut-plane analysis was associated with lower absolute error than conventional analysis (area: 0.56 ± 0.45, vs. 1.50 ± 1.31 mm(2), P < 0.001; mean diameter: 0.18 ± 0.14 vs. 0.44 ± 0.30 mm, P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Measurements of SB ostium performed in a laboratory setting by cut-plane analysis of an OCT pullback of the main branch have high correlation with reference measurements performed in a SB OCT pullback and lower error compared with conventional analysis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Interventional Cardiology, Thoraxcentre, BA-585, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Gravendijkwal 230, 3015 CE Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Antonios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karanasos
authors.affiliation: Division of Image Processing, Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Shengxian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tu
authors.affiliation: Department of Interventional Cardiology, Thoraxcentre, BA-585, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Gravendijkwal 230, 3015 CE Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Nienke S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: van Ditzhuijzen
authors.affiliation: Department of Interventional Cardiology, Thoraxcentre, BA-585, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Gravendijkwal 230, 3015 CE Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jurgen M R
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ligthart
authors.affiliation: Department of Interventional Cardiology, Thoraxcentre, BA-585, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Gravendijkwal 230, 3015 CE Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Witberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Interventional Cardiology, Thoraxcentre, BA-585, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Gravendijkwal 230, 3015 CE Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Van Mieghem
authors.affiliation: Department of Interventional Cardiology, Thoraxcentre, BA-585, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Gravendijkwal 230, 3015 CE Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Robert-Jan
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: van Geuns
authors.affiliation: Department of Interventional Cardiology, Thoraxcentre, BA-585, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Gravendijkwal 230, 3015 CE Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: de Jaegere
authors.affiliation: Department of Interventional Cardiology, Thoraxcentre, BA-585, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Gravendijkwal 230, 3015 CE Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zijlstra
authors.affiliation: Division of Image Processing, Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Johan H C
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Reiber
authors.affiliation: Department of Interventional Cardiology, Thoraxcentre, BA-585, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Gravendijkwal 230, 3015 CE Rotterdam, The Netherlands e.regar@erasmusmc.nl.
authors.forename: Evelyn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Regar
mesh_terms: D016477:Artifacts; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015607:Stents; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence
keywords: coronary artery interventions; coronary stents; intravascular imaging; intravascular ultrasound; optical coherence tomography; percutaneous coronary intervention