Background: A major limitation of the current practice of coronary Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) imaging is that the locations of the acquired IVUS images are not correlated with their locations on the vessel roadmap obtained by coronary angiography.
Methods and Results: For the first time worldwide, we used a new IVUS Co-Registration system, which provides a real time automatic and reliable registration of IVUS images with the angiographic vessel roadmap, in a clinical trial. Twenty patients that underwent PCI for routine indications had IVUS study with angiography co-registration. A 1 to 5 semi-quantitative scale was used to evaluate this system for functionality and usefulness in clinical decision making during lesion assessment prior and post stent deployment. The overall score of multiple parameters in the whole patient group was 4.6. The interactive, real time, co-registration new method and its role in decision making during PCI, will be presented in details.
Conclusions: We found this new technology of IVUS with coronary angiography co-registration useful in: lesion assessment, atherosclerosis extent determination and its respective location on the angiogram, obtaining the precise dimensions (diameter and length) of the site to be covered by stent and selection of the appropriate stent accordingly, and in post stent deployment IVUS assessment of its proper apposition and if needed to guide the stent post dilatation at the exact spot on the angiogram.
This system significantly improves ease of use and optimization of therapy in diseased coronary arteries and can minimize restenosis and in-stent thrombosis.
