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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 294/2/H1094    most recent 01149.2007v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Shinohara, M. Articles by Momose, A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Shinohara, M. Articles by Momose, A.

INNOVATIVE METHODOLOGY

Atherosclerotic plaque imaging using phase-contrast X-ray computed tomography

¹Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe; ²Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, Hyogo; and ³Department of Advanced Materials Science, Graduate School of Frontier Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

Submitted 4 October 2007 ; accepted in final form 10 December 2007

Reliable, noninvasive imaging modalities to characterize plaque components are clinically desirable for detecting unstable coronary plaques, which cause acute coronary syndrome. Although recent clinical developments in computed tomography (CT) have enabled the visualization of luminal narrowing and calcified plaques in coronary arteries, the identification of noncalcified plaque components remains difficult. Phase-contrast X-ray CT imaging has great potentials to reveal the structures inside biological soft tissues, because its sensitivity to light elements is almost 1,000 times greater than that of absorption-contrast X-ray imaging. Moreover, a specific mass density of tissue can be estimated using phase-contrast X-ray CT. Ex vivo phase-contrast X-ray CT was performed using a synchrotron radiation source (SPring-8, Japan) to investigate atherosclerotic plaque components of apolipoprotein E-deficient mice. Samples were also histologically analyzed. Phase-contrast X-ray CT at a spatial resolution of 10–20 µm revealed atherosclerotic plaque components easily, and thin fibrous caps were detected. The specific mass densities of these plaque components were quantitatively estimated. The mass density of lipid area was significantly lower (1.011 ± 0.001766 g/ml) than that of smooth muscle area or collagen area (1.057 ± 0.001407 and 1.080 ± 0.001794 g/ml, respectively). Moreover, the three-dimensional assessment of plaques could provide their anatomical information. Phase-contrast X-ray CT can estimate the tissue mass density of atherosclerotic plaques and detect lipid-rich areas. It can be a promising noninvasive technique for the investigation of plaque components and detection of unstable coronary plaques.

synchrotron radiation; atherosclerotic plaque component; tissue-mass density of plaque component