ROLE OF INTRAVASCULAR ULTRASOUND IN CORONARY-ARTERY DISEASE - A NEW GOLD STANDARD - AN OVERVIEW

Although selective contrast coronary arteriography has been the gold s tandard approach for coronary imaging since more than 30 years, new co ronary imaging techniques are currently under development. Intravascul ar ultrasound (IVUS) is perhaps the most promising of these additional techniques. IVUS makes use of miniaturised crystals incorporated at c atheter tips and provides real time, cross-sectional and longitudinal, high resolution images of the arterial wall with three-dimensional re construction capabilities (Pandian, 1989; Coy et al., 1991; Liebsen & Klein, 1992). Different devices have been constructed. Actually two ty pes are being used: mechanical (hand-rotated or motor-driven) systems and phased array systems using high-frequency (20-30 MHz) transducers Bom et al., 1989). Coronary ultrasound imaging performed during cathet erization is feasible and safe as demonstrated in several studies exam ining normal and pathologic coronary arteries (De Scheerder et al., in press).