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Intravascular Ultrasound Overview

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is a unique imaging technology that yields a cross-sectional view of blood vessels from the inside-out. IVUS can accurately show the location, magnitude and type of plaque that is building up inside the arteries. (Read more...)

Fractional Flow Reserve

A narrowing may exist in an artery, but is that narrowing causing a problem? One way to determine this is by using a special catheter to measure Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) which actually quantifies the blood flow and may indicate that an intervention is not necessary. (Read more...)

NewsCenter: Reports and Features
Breaking news, original reporting and links to research about intravascular ultrasound and related devices:

•	To Stent or Not To Stent: FFR Trumps Angiography for Blockages up to 90%
•	See One, Score One for Stents
•	Stent Helpers: IVUS, OCT and FFR -- Intravascular Tools At EuroPCR
•	Volcano Introduces VIBE™ RX - the World’s Only Vascular Imaging Balloon Catheter
•	Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) Recognized in Guidelines, Not So Much In Reimbursement
•	Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) Gains in Updated ACC/AHA/SCAI Guidelines
•	Better Outcomes for Stents When Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) is Used
•	Use of Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) Growing with Integration into Routine Cath Lab Imaging (May 15 '08)
•	Cordis Europe Partnering With Volcano Europe to Provide Access to Intravascular Imaging (IVUS) for Use in Drug-Eluting Stent Procedures (Nov 8 '07)
•	Most Heart Stents Are Placed Imperfectly, Increasing Risk of Heart Attack or Reclosure (May 30 '07)
•	COURAGE, SPIRIT Data May Support Role of Advanced Imaging and Diagnosis With IVUS and FFR (April 18 '07)
•	Volcano Corp. Reports Use of IVUS Increasing as Physicians Refocus on Stent Technique
•	"I can see clearly now" -- IVUS and Thrombosis -- Editor's Blog
•	Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) Imaging Technology May Help Lower Rates of Late Stent Thrombosis
•	Abbott Vulnerable Plaque Study Completes Enrollment
•	All Intravascular Ultrasound News

Angioplasty.Org Interview with:
Giulio Guagliumi, MD

Dr. Giulio Guagliumi, an internationally recognized leader in the use of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) in the coronary arteries, practices in the Cardiovascular Department of Ospedali Riuniti di Bergamo in Bergamo, Italy.

Dr. Guagliumi has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals and is principal investigator in several clinical trials assessing the performance of stents inside the coronary artery, using OCT imaging. In this interview, he discusses the dynamic changes occurring with this technology.

Q: One interesting outcome from the ODESSA Trial -- you looked at the four different drug-eluting stent types and came up with some pretty interesting data about the differences among them.
Dr. Guagliumi: First of all, it is confirmed that DES are not just one single family. Each one has its own profile. Logically the more you push the envelope in trying to make zero neointimal growth, the more you risk leaving some struts uncovered, or some struts malapposed. So OCT technology is going to dramatically increase the understanding of the response. (Read entire interview...)

Also read the Angioplasty.Org Interviews with:

Nico H.J. Pijls, MD, PhD
Dr. Pijls is co-principal investigator for the FAME study and Professor of Cardiology at Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Dr. Pijls has studied FFR extensively, and has led previous trials, such as DEFER, to measure its efficacy.

Szilard Voros, MD
Dr. Voros is medical director for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (CMR) and Computed Tomography (CCT) at Fuqua Heart Center of Atlanta at Piedmont Hospital, providing world-class non-invasive imaging of the heart & blood vessels.

Ron Waksman, MD, FACC
Ron Waksman, MD, FACC is a world-renowned interventional cardiologist and Associate Director of Cardiology at Washington Hospital Center. His current research interests include IVUS, bioabsorbable stents, and gene cell therapy.

Marc D. Feldman, MD, FACC
Marc D. Feldman, MD, FACC is Director of Interventional Research and the Cardiac Cath Lab at University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. He works in a number of research areas, including nanotechnology and OCT.

Craig A. Thompson, MD, MMSc
Dr. Thompson is Director of the Cardiovascular Catheterization Laboratory at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire and is Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at the Dartmouth Medical School.

John McBarron Hodgson, MD
Dr. Hodgson of Sant� Cardiology is a recent Past President of the SCAI and a founding member of the SCCT. He has published over 200 peer reviewed articles, 8 books or book chapters, and co-developed the TeachIVUS online training tool.

Antonio Colombo, MD

Known worldwide as one of the leaders of interventional cardiology, Dr. Colombo is a pioneering force in the field of coronary stent placement. In this interview, he explains how he uses IVUS to improve outcomes and reduce the incidence of stent thrombosis.

Michael C. Foster, MD
Dr. Foster of the South Carolina Heart Center has been involved in assessing numerous innovations in cardiology. He is a strong proponent of IVUS, which he feels can make a signficant addition to the armamentarium of the interventionalist.

(RealPlayer required)

Video Clip of
Paul Yock, MD
One of the pioneers of intravascular ultrasound imaging, Dr. Yock discusses how IVUS changed the way stents were deployed.

For healthcare professionals: click here to view upcoming training opportunities in intravascular ultrasound for physicians and related healthcare professionals at hospital centers throughout the US.

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