Abstract:
The cardiovascular departments of the hospital of Holy Pope Giovanni XXIII in Bergamo, Italy and of the Institute of Cardiology in Chisinau,
the Republic of Moldova have a fruitful history of collaboration in the field of interventional cardiology and intracoronary imaging in particular. We
have recently expanded our collaboration by adding the method of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) into the armamentarium of imaging in the
catheterization laboratory. OCT is an innovative, real time, tomographic imaging modality able to visualize tissues at microstructure level. It delivers
the rays of near-infrared light through the wall of the coronary artery using small diameter optical fibres. The light that illuminates the vessel is absorbed
and backscattered or reflected by the structures of the tissues with different degrees of density, thus creating an image with an axial resolution of 10-20
µm. This technology allows acquiring high definition images of long segments of coronaries for a few seconds. For the time being, OCT is mainly used
in the researches, providing insights into the pathophysiology of the atherosclerotic plaque and the vascular response to stenting. It also has a potential
for clinical application, such as pre-interventional evaluation of coronary arteries, procedures guidance and follow-up assessment of vascular healing
after the stent implantation. A joined database has been created by the two institutions in an effort to study in vivo the morphology of the coronary
arteries in different pathologies. This review is focused on the potential fields of application of OCT in different clinical and scientific institutions.
