New technology is giving doctors a dramatic look into patients’ coronary arteries.

Using a new optical imaging technique called optical frequency-domain imaging (OFDI), doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital were able to capture three-dimensional, microscopic views of patients’ coronary arteries, allowing them to see areas of inflammation and plaque deposits in a whole new way.

“This is the first human demonstration of a technique that has the potential to change how cardiologists look at coronary arteries,” Gary Tearney, M.D., Ph.D., of the MGH Pathology Department and the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at MGH in Boston, was quoted as saying. “The wealth of info that we can now acquire will undoubtedly enhance our capability to understand coronary artery disease and may permit cardiologists to diagnose and treat plaque before it leads to serious problems.”

OFDI could modify optical coherence tomography (OCT), another imaging technology that only allows doctors to inspect one tissue at a time. OFDI can look at over 1,000 points simultaneously.

Source: Massachusetts General Hospital press release, November 17, 2008

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