| Imaging Modality | SpatialResolution (ì) | Vessel Wall Penetration(mm) | Features Detected | Comments | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image of vessel wall | Fibrous Cap | Lipid Core | Inflammation | Calcium | Thrombus | |||||
| Invasive Methods | Angiography | NA | * | * | * | Reference standard for stenotic lesions | ||||
| Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) | 40~100 | ~10 | * | * | * | * | * | Characterizes vessel wall and morphology, good for calcified plaque, poor for lipids | ||
| Angioscopy | Visual | Poor | * | * | * | * | Direct visualization of lumen surface, using color and surface appearance to identify vulnerable plaques | |||
| Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) | 2~30 | 1~2 | * | * | * | * | * | Provides cross-sectional images of vessel wall and quantifies fibrous cap thickness and extent of lipid collections | ||
| Thermography | 500 | Poor | * | Images temperature heterogeneity due to rise in temperature in macrophage-rich areas in plaque | ||||||
| Raman Spectroscopy | NA | 1~1.5 | * | * | * | * | Analysis of Raman spectrum for chemical composition of atherosclerotic plaque | |||
| Near infrared Spectroscopy | 2 | |||||||||
| Intravascular MRI | 160 | Good | * | * | * | * | * | Measurements of cap thickness and characterization of atherosclerotic lesion | ||
| Non-invasive Methods | Surface Ultrasound | 400 | Good | * | * | * | * | * | Characterizes vessel wall and morphology, good for calcified plaque, poor for lipids | |
| Computed Tomography | NA | * | * | More useful for detection of calcified plaques | ||||||
| Nuclear Scintigraphy | Poor | NA | * | * | Based on specific binding of radioactive labeled molecules to the target tissue (such as radiolabeled LDL) | |||||
| Standard MRI | 300 | Good | * | * | * | * | * | Measurements of cap thickness and characterization of atherosclerotic lesion | ||