First-in-man near-infrared spectroscopy proof of lipid-core embolization during carotid artery stenting
Abstract
Intravascular near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), which has been used in over 5,000 patients to identify the lipid-core plaques (LCP) that cause coronary events, may also assist in the characterization of the carotid atherosclerotic lesions predisposing to stroke. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the use of NIRS in a patient undergoing carotid artery stenting (CAS).
In the coronary arteries NIRS seems to be capable of firstly assisting with coronary interventions by predicting distal embolization and stent failure and possibly also to identify lesions at higher risk of causing spontaneous coronary events [1-9]. While NIRS has been cleared by the FDA for detection of LCP in the coronary arteries, it has not been validated or approved for use in carotid arteries [10].
A multimodality catheter (TVC System, Infraredx, Inc, Burlington, MA) that contains intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and NIRS was used in this carotid case.