In vivo characterisation of coronary plaques with conventional grey-scale intravascular ultrasound: correlation with optical coherence tomography

Aims Although intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is widely used, there is limited published data on its accuracy in defining plaque characteristics in vivo. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a high-resolution imaging technique that takes advantage of the pronounced optical contrast between the components of normal and diseased vessels. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of conventional grey-scale IVUS in identifying in vivo coronary plaque characteristics, in particular lipid content as a marker of the vulnerable plaque, when compared to OCT.