OBJECTIVES-We present the first clinical imaging of human coronary arteries in vivo using a multimodality OCT and near-infrared autofluorescence (NIRAF) intravascular imaging system and catheter.BACKGROUND-While intravascular OCT is capable of providing microstructural images of coronary atherosclerotic lesions, it is limited in its capability to ascertain compositional/molecular features of plaque, including the definitive presence of a necrotic core. A recent study in cadaver coronary plaque has shown that endogenous NIRAF is elevated in necrotic core lesions. The combination of these two technologies in one device may therefore provide synergistic data to aid in the diagnosis of coronary pathology in vivo.

No abstract

The other writing committee members and coauthors declare that there is no conflict of interest.