Why Characterize the Vessel?
The majority of intravascular imaging techniques in use today do not provide a complete assessment of the vessel to understand both plaque composition and structure while accurately and reliably detecting lipid core plaques (LCP).We know that when lipid core plaques rupture, they cause sudden death hundreds of thousands of times a year. We also know that LCP can complicate coronary stenting, a procedure performed in more than two million people worldwide each year. Preventing those frequent complications, and sometimes deaths, requires the timely identification of LCP, which is attainable through true vessel characterization.
True vessel characterization -- the accurate, reliable, rapid and simultaneous assessment of both composition and structure -- can identify high-risk, lipid core plaques known to complicate stenting and associated with most coronary events. And that can provide sound insight for clinical decision-making.
Accurate, Reliable, and Rapid Assessment of Vessel Structure and Composition Holds Clinical Value
True vessel characterization enables rapid and informed clinical decision-making and may enable interventional cardiologists to:- More reliably select optimal stent diameter and length to optimize lesion coverage, determine optimal stent landing zones, and minimize longitudinal and axial miss.
- Evaluate stent expansion post-procedure, thereby reducing risk of thrombosis and restenosis due to stent under-expansion.
- More reliably predict risk of future events (even when a patient presents without complex coronary artery disease by angiography).
- More reliably predict risk of peri-procedural myocardial infarction.
- Lower procedural complications and improve procedural success.
True vessel characterization means access to comprehensive information -- quickly, accurately, and reliably -- because knowing matters.
