The Role of Intracoronary Plaque Imaging with Intravascular Ultrasound, Optical Coherence Tomography, and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease.

The development of multiple diagnostic intracoronary imaging modalities has increased our understanding of coronary atherosclerotic disease. These imaging modalities, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), optical coherence tomography (OCT), and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), have provided a method to study plaques and introduced the concept of plaque vulnerability. They are being increasingly used for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) optimization and are invaluable tools in research studying the pathophysiology of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), in-stent thrombosis and in-stent restenosis.