[New imaging methods for visualizing coronary arteries]

Feasibility study of MEMS-based stenosis detection using a prototypical catheter design with intravascular scanning probes (IVSPs)

X-ray coronary angiography (XRA) is a standard clinical method for diagnosing coronary artery disease (CAD). However, despite continuous improvements in XRA technology, it has limitations that include being visible only in color contrast, and the information it provides on coronary artery plaques is not comprehensive due to its low signal-to-noise ratio and limited resolution. In this study, we propose a novel diagnostic tool, a MEMS-based smart catheter with an intravascular scanning probe (IVSP), to complement XRA and verify its effectiveness and feasibility. The IVSP catheter uses Pt strain gauges embedded on the probe to examine the characteristics of a blood vessel, such as the degree of stenosis and morphological structures of the vessel walls, through physical contact. The feasibility test results showed that the output signals of the IVSP catheter reflected the morphological structure of the phantom glass vessel that mimicked stenosis. In particular, the IVSP catheter successfully assessed the morphology of the stenosis, which was only 17% of the cross-sectional diameter obstructed. In addition, the strain distribution on the probe surface was studied using finite element analysis (FEA), and a correlation between the experimental and FEA results was derived.