Cardiovascular optoacoustics: From mice to men - A review.

Imaging has become an indispensable tool in the research and clinical management of cardiovascular disease (CVD). An array of imaging technologies is considered for CVD diagnostics and therapeutic assessment, ranging from ultrasonography, X-ray computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging to nuclear and optical imaging methods. Each method has different operational characteristics and assesses different aspects of CVD pathophysiology; nevertheless, more information is desirable for achieving a comprehensive view of the disease.

Multi-Parametric Standardization of Fluorescence Imaging Systems Based on a Composite Phantom.

Objective: Fluorescence molecular imaging (FMI) has emerged as a promising tool for surgical guidance in oncology, with one of the few remaining challenges being the ability to offer quality control and data referencing. This paper investigates the use of a novel composite phantom to correct and benchmark FMI systems.

Methods: This paper extends on previous work by describing a phantom design that can provide a more complete assessment of FMI systems through quantification of dynamic range and determination of spatial illumination patterns for both reflectance and fluorescence imaging.

Importance of Ultrawide Bandwidth for Optoacoustic Esophagus Imaging.

Optoacoustic (photoacoustic) endoscopy has shown potential to reveal complementary contrast to optical endoscopy methods, indicating clinical relevance. However operational parameters for accurate optoacoustic endoscopy must be specified for optimal performance. Recent support from the EU Horizon 2020 program ESOTRAC to develop a next-generation optoacoustic esophageal endoscope directs the interrogation of the optimal frequency required for accurate implementation.

Optoacoustic sensing of hematocrit to improve the accuracy of hybrid fluorescence-ultrasound intravascular imaging.

Hybrid intravascular fluorescence-ultrasound imaging is emerging for reading anatomical and biological information in vivo. By operating through blood, intravascular near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) detection is affected by hemoglobin attenuation. Improved quantification has been demonstrated with methods that correct for the attenuation of the optical signal as it propagates through blood.

Neoatherosclerosis: from basic principles to intravascular imaging.

Development of new atherosclerotic lesions within the neointima of stented vessels has been recognized as a novel disease manifestation of atherosclerosis (neoatherosclerosis), often manifesting as in-stent restenosis (ISR) or in-stent thrombosis (ST). The pathobiology of this entity is still not fully understood and definite diagnosis is challenging owing to limitations in resolution of contemporary intravascular imaging modalities and lack of consequent histopathology correlation studies. Yet, intravascular imaging has emerged as the gold standard for the diagnosis of in-stent pathologies, the most routinely used modalities being intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Flow-mediated dilatation test using optoacoustic imaging: a proof-of-concept.

Label-free multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT) has recently shown superior performance in visualizing the morphology of human vasculature, especially of smaller vessels, compared to ultrasonography. Herein, we extend these observations towards MSOT interrogation of macrovascular endothelial function. We employed a real-time handheld MSOT scanner to assess flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), a technique used to characterize endothelial function.

Quantitative intravascular biological fluorescence-ultrasound imaging of coronary and peripheral arteries in vivo.

Aims: (i) to evaluate a novel hybrid near-infrared fluorescence-intravascular ultrasound (NIRF-IVUS) system in coronary and peripheral swine arteries in vivo; (ii) to assess simultaneous quantitative biological and morphological aspects of arterial disease.

Methods And Results: Two 9F/15MHz peripheral and 4.5F/40MHz coronary near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF)-IVUS catheters were engineered to enable accurate co-registrtation of biological and morphological readings simultaneously in vivo.