AbstractsBiology & Animal Science

Non invasive assesment of vulnerable plaque using microwave radiometry

by Charalampos Grassos




Institution: Institutes outside Greece; Ιδρύματα Εξωτερικού
Department:
Year: 2012
Keywords: Ευάλωτη αθηρωματική πλάκα; Ραδιομετρία μικροκυμάτων; Vunerable plaque; Microwave radiometry
Record ID: 1155005
Full text PDF: http://hdl.handle.net/10442/hedi/34853


Abstract

Heat generation is one of the functional characteristics of vulnerable plaque,which is defined as the atherosclerotic plaque that is prone to rupture and cause a acute coronary syndrome.Intravascular thermography is the only method can be used in vivo to measure heat generation from atherosclerotic plaques.Microwave radiometry is a new non-invasive method for measuring temperature from internal tissues at microwave frequencies .We investigated whether thermal heterogeneity measured by Microwave Radiometry is correlated with Intravascular thermography and with histological findings in a experimental atheromatic model. Twenty four rabbits were randomized to normal (n=12) or cholesterol-rich diet (n=12) for 6 months. Thereafter, temperature measurements of the abdominal aortas were performed 1) invasively with IVT and 2) non-invasively with MR. All aortas were divided by optical coherence tomography in 5 segments. For both techniques temperature difference (ΔT) of each segment was assigned as the temperature of each segment minus the minimal temperature of the 5 segments. Both MR and IVT detected that ΔT of atherosclerotic aortas were significantly higher compared to controls (MR:1.02±0.23°C versus 0.21±0.09°C, p<0.001, IVT:0.19±0.03°C versus 0.01±0.01°C, p<0.001). ΔΤ detected by the two methods correlated positively (p<0.001). ΔΤ measured by MR correlated with inflammatory cell density CD3 and CD68 immunoreactivity (p<0.05). The results of the current study justify the clinical application of MR for the non-invasive detection of the inflammatory activation in atherosclerotic plaques