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Intravascular Ultrasound
Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) or intravascular echocardiography is a medical imaging methodology using a specially designed catheter with a miniaturized ultrasound probe attached to the distal end of the catheter. The proximal end of the catheter is attached to computerized ultrasound equipment. It allows the application of ultrasound technology, such as piezoelectric transducer or Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers, CMUT, to see from inside blood vessels out through the surrounding blood column, visualizing the endothelium (inner wall) of blood vessels. The artery, arteries of the heart (the coronary circulation, coronary arteries) are the most frequent imaging target for IVUS. IVUS is used in the coronary arteries to determine the amount of atheroma, atheromatous plaque built up at any particular point in the epicardial coronary artery. Intravascular ultrasound provides a unique method to study the regression or progression of atherosclerotic lesions in vivo. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medical Imaging
Medical imaging is the technique and process of imaging the interior of a body for clinical analysis and medical intervention, as well as visual representation of the function of some organs or tissues (physiology). Medical imaging seeks to reveal internal structures hidden by the skin and bones, as well as to diagnose and treat disease. Medical imaging also establishes a database of normal anatomy and physiology to make it possible to identify abnormalities. Although imaging of removed organ (anatomy), organs and Tissue (biology), tissues can be performed for medical reasons, such procedures are usually considered part of pathology instead of medical imaging. Measurement and recording techniques that are not primarily designed to produce images, such as electroencephalography (EEG), magnetoencephalography (MEG), electrocardiography (ECG), and others, represent other technologies that produce data susceptible to representation as a parameter graph versus time or maps that contain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stent
In medicine, a stent is a tube usually constructed of a metallic alloy or a polymer. It is inserted into the Lumen (anatomy), lumen (hollow space) of an anatomic vessel or duct to keep the passageway open. Stenting refers to the placement of a stent. The word "stent" is also used as a verb to describe the placement of such a device, particularly when a disease such as atherosclerosis has pathology, pathologically narrowed a structure such as an artery. A stent is different from a shunt (medical), shunt. A shunt is a tube that connects two previously unconnected parts of the body to allow fluid to flow between them. Stents and shunts can be made of similar materials, but perform two different tasks. There are various types of stents used for different medical purposes. Coronary stents are commonly used in coronary angioplasty, with drug-eluting stents being the most common type. Vascular stents are used for peripheral and cerebrovascular disease, while ureteral stents ensure t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calcification
Calcification is the accumulation of calcium salts in a body tissue. It normally occurs in the formation of bone, but calcium can be deposited abnormally in soft tissue,Miller, J. D. Cardiovascular calcification: Orbicular origins. ''Nature Materials'' 12, 476-478 (2013). causing it to harden. Calcifications may be classified on whether there is mineral balance or not, and the location of the calcification. Calcification may also refer to the processes of normal mineral deposition in biological systems, such as the formation of stromatolites or mollusc shells (see Biomineralization). Signs and symptoms Calcification can manifest itself in many ways in the body depending on the location. In the pulpal structure of a tooth, calcification often presents asymptomatically, and is diagnosed as an incidental finding during radiographic interpretation. Individual teeth with calcified pulp will typically respond negatively to vitality testing; teeth with calcified pulp often lack ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Echogenic
Echogenicity (sometimes as echogenecity) or echogeneity is the ability to bounce an echo, e.g. return the signal in medical ultrasound examinations. In other words, echogenicity is higher when the surface bouncing the sound echo reflects increased sound waves. Tissues that have higher echogenicity are called "hyperechoic" and are usually represented with lighter colors on images in medical ultrasonography. In contrast, tissues with lower echogenicity are called "hypoechoic" and are usually represented with darker colors. Areas that lack echogenicity are called "anechoic" and are usually displayed as completely dark. Microbubbles Echogenicity can be increased by intravenously administering gas-filled microbubble contrast agent to the systemic circulation, with the procedure being called contrast-enhanced ultrasound. This is because microbubbles have a high degree of echogenicity. When gas bubbles are caught in an ultrasonic frequency field, they compress, oscillate, and reflect a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vein
Veins () are blood vessels in the circulatory system of humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are those of the pulmonary and fetal circulations which carry oxygenated blood to the heart. In the systemic circulation, arteries carry oxygenated blood away from the heart, and veins return deoxygenated blood to the heart, in the deep veins. There are three sizes of veins: large, medium, and small. Smaller veins are called venules, and the smallest the post-capillary venules are microscopic that make up the veins of the microcirculation. Veins are often closer to the skin than arteries. Veins have less smooth muscle and connective tissue and wider internal diameters than arteries. Because of their thinner walls and wider lumens they are able to expand and hold more blood. This greater capacity gives them the term of ''capacitance vessels''. At any time, nearly 70% o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intravascular Optical Coherence Tomography
Endoscopic optical coherence tomography, also intravascular optical coherence tomography is a catheter-based imaging application of optical coherence tomography (OCT). It is capable of acquiring high-resolution images from inside a blood vessel using optical fibers and laser technology. One of its main applications is for coronary arteries, which are often treated by endoscopic, minimally invasive surgical procedures. Other applications for peripheral arteries and for neurovascular procedures have been proposed and are being investigated. Neurovascular applications required significant technological developments, due to the highly tortuous anatomy of the cerebrovasculature. Intravascular OCT rapidly creates three-dimensional images at a resolution of approximately 15 micrometers, an improved resolution with respect to intravascular ultrasound and coronary angiogram, the other imaging techniques. This offers additional information that can be used to optimize the treatment a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is a minimally invasive non-surgical procedure used to treat stenosis, narrowing of the coronary artery, coronary arteries of the heart found in coronary artery disease. The procedure is used to place and deploy coronary stents, a permanent wire-meshed tube, to open narrowed coronary arteries. PCI is considered 'non-surgical' as it uses a small hole in a peripheral artery (leg/arm) to gain access to the arterial system; an equivalent surgical procedure would involve the opening of the chest wall to gain access to the heart area. The term 'coronary angioplasty with stent' is synonymous with PCI. The procedure visualises the blood vessels via Fluoroscopy, fluoroscopic imaging and contrast dyes. PCI is performed by an interventional cardiologists in a catheterization laboratory setting. Patients who undergo PCI broadly fall into two patient groups. Those who are suffering from a heart attack and are in a critical care emergency room setting an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Echocardiogram
Echocardiography, also known as cardiac ultrasound, is the use of ultrasound to examine the heart. It is a type of medical imaging, using standard ultrasound or Doppler ultrasound. The visual image formed using this technique is called an echocardiogram, a cardiac echo, or simply an echo. Echocardiography is routinely used in the diagnosis, management, and follow-up of patients with any suspected or known heart diseases. It is one of the most widely used diagnostic imaging modalities in cardiology. It can provide a wealth of helpful information, including the size and shape of the heart (internal chamber size quantification), pumping capacity, location and extent of any tissue damage, and assessment of valves. An echocardiogram can also give physicians other estimates of heart function, such as a calculation of the cardiac output, ejection fraction, and diastolic function (how well the heart relaxes). Echocardiography is an important tool in assessing wall motion abnormality ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thrombosis
Thrombosis () is the formation of a Thrombus, blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. When a blood vessel (a vein or an artery) is injured, the body uses platelets (thrombocytes) and fibrin to form a blood clot to prevent blood loss. Even when a blood vessel is not injured, blood clots may form in the body under certain conditions. A clot, or a piece of the clot, that breaks free and begins to travel around the body is known as an embolus. Thrombosis can cause serious conditions such as stroke and heart attack. Thrombosis may occur in veins (venous thrombosis) or in arteries (arterial thrombosis). Venous thrombosis (sometimes called DVT, deep vein thrombosis) leads to a blood clot in the affected part of the body, while arterial thrombosis (and, rarely, severe venous thrombosis) affects the blood supply and leads to damage of the tissue supplied by that artery (ischemia and necrosis). A piece of either an arterial or a v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stenosis
Stenosis () is the abnormal narrowing of a blood vessel or other tubular organ or structure such as foramina and canals. It is also sometimes called a stricture (as in urethral stricture). ''Stricture'' as a term is usually used when narrowing is caused by contraction of smooth muscle (e.g. achalasia, prinzmetal angina); ''stenosis'' is usually used when narrowing is caused by lesion that reduces the space of lumen (e.g. atherosclerosis). The term coarctation is another synonym, but is commonly used only in the context of aortic coarctation. Restenosis is the recurrence of stenosis after a procedure. Examples Examples of vascular stenotic lesions include: * Intermittent claudication (peripheral artery stenosis) * Angina ( coronary artery stenosis) * Carotid artery stenosis which predispose to (strokes and transient ischaemic episodes) * Renal artery stenosis Types In heart valves The types of stenoses in heart valves are: * Pulmonary valve stenosis, which is th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
