Evaluation of endovenous radiofrequency ablation and laser therapy with endoluminal optical coherence tomography in an ex vivo model.

Background: This study evaluated the ability of endovascular optical coherence tomography (eOCT) to detect qualitative tissue alteration and quantitative changes of vein wall thickness and vein lumen diameter comparing endovenous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and endovenous laser therapy (ELT) in an established ex vivo model.

Methods: Endoluminal eOCT was performed by means of a new prototype rotating system (System M1, LightLab Imaging Inc, Boston, Mass) with automatic pullback of 1 mm/s. In the course of an eOCT examination of a 50-mm vein segment, 264 electronic cross section images with a spatial resolution of 15 to 20 mum are acquired.

Endovascular optical coherence tomography ex vivo: venous wall anatomy and tissue alterations after endovenous therapy.

Endovascular optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a new imaging modality providing histology-like information of the venous wall. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and laser therapy (ELT) are accepted alternatives to surgery. This study evaluated OCT for qualitative assessment of venous wall anatomy and tissue alterations after RFA and ELT in bovine venous specimens.