Diagnostic Imaging Tech
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced on March 12 that a research team lead by Professor Oh Wang-yuhl from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at KAIST has developed a technology to make a world-class blood vessel endoscope system.
The diagnostic imaging technology provides cross-sectional images of the blood vessel walls, up to 3.5 times faster than using the existing blood vessel endoscope system. Therefore, the tech is expected to help in diagnosing and treating cardiovascular diseases.
The new optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a method that captures micrometer-resolution, three-dimensional images of blood vessels by inserting an 0.8mm diameter endoscope into a blood vessel.
In the past, it was impossible to closely examine the inside of blood vessels due to slow scanning speeds. However, the new technology makes high-resolution 3D imaging possible with a high-speed and high-resolution endoscope. It has overcome the shortcomings of conventional intravascular imaging techniques.
The existing method is operated so slowly that it sparsely scans the inside of a blood vessel, although the procedure needs to be completed in a few seconds after a transparent liquid is discharged into the blood vessel.
The new tech allows the research team to get 3D images at a resolution of 10 to 35μm within 5.8 seconds by scanning a rabbit’s 7cm-long aorta, which is similar to a human’s coronary artery, at a speed of 350 images per second. This method enables a closer examination of blood vessels, as opposed to a traditional one where images are produced at a resolution of 200μm.
Professor Oh remarked, “The newly-developed system proved to be a world-class blood vessel endoscope system, since we succeeded in scanning a blood vessel of a rabbit, which is similar to that of a human.” He added, “We will do our best to make sure that this technology can be used in patients within a few years through further research. For example, we are planning to scan the coronary arteries of a certain animal, whose heart is similar in size vis-à-vis the human heart, during the first half of this year.”
This study was funded by the National Research Foundation and the Ministry of Education and Science Technology, and the research findings were published online in the January issue of Biomedical Optics Express, a scientific journal published monthly by The Optical Society.