An open system for intravascular ultrasound imaging

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is able to delineate internal structures of vessel wall with fine spatial resolution. However, the developed IVUS is insufficient to identify the fibrous cap thickness and tissue composition of atherosclerotic lesions. Currently, novel imaging strategies are proposed such as increasing the center frequency of ultrasound or using modulated excitation technique to improve the accuracy of diagnosis. Dual mode tomography combining the IVUS with optical tomography has also been developed to determine tissue morphology and characteristics. The implementation of these new imaging methods requires an open system that allows users to customize the system for various studies. This paper presents the development of an IVUS system that has open structures to support various imaging strategies. In vitro IVUS vessel imaging and multi-modality imaging with photoacoustics were conducted to demonstrate the performance of the open system.