1
CLINICAL RESEARCH
EuroIntervention 2014;10-online publish-ahead-of-print June 2014 DOI: 10.4244/EIJY14M06_11
© Europa Digital & Publishing 2014. All rights reserved.
*Corresponding author: Department of Cardiology, Medical School, University of Ioannina, PO Box 1186, GR 451 10 Ioannina,
Greece. E-mail: lmihalis@cc.uoi.gr
Anatomically correct three-dimensional coronary artery
reconstruction using frequency domain optical coherence
tomographic and angiographic data: head-to-head
comparison with intravascular ultrasound for endothelial
shear stress assessment in humans
Michail I. Papafaklis
1,2
, MD, PhD; Christos V. Bourantas
3
, MD, PhD; Taishi Yonetsu
4
, MD;
Rocco Vergallo
4
, MD; Anna Kotsia
2
, MD; Shimpei Nakatani
3
, MD; Lampros S. Lakkas
2
, MD;
Lambros S. Athanasiou
5
, BSc; Katerina K. Naka
2
, MD, PhD; Dimitrios I. Fotiadis
5
, PhD;
Charles L. Feldman
1
, ScD; Peter H. Stone
1
, MD; Patrick W. Serruys
3
, MD, PhD; Ik-Kyung Jang
4
, MD, PhD;
Lampros K. Michalis
2
*, MD, MRCP
1. Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; 2. Department of
Cardiology, Medical School, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece; 3. Thoraxcenter, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam,
The Netherlands; 4. Cardiology Division, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA;
5. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
M.I. Papafaklis and C.V. Bourantas contributed equally to this manuscript.
GUEST EDITOR: Peter Barlis, MBBS, MPH, PhD, FCSANZ, FACC, FRSA, FRACP, FESC; Faculty of Medicine,
Dentistry & Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Abstract
Aims: To develop a methodology that permits accurate 3-dimensional (3D) reconstruction from FD-OCT and
angiographic data enabling reliable evaluation of the ESS distribution, and to compare the FD-OCT-derived
models against the established models based on angiography/IVUS.
Methods and results: Fifteen patients (17 coronary arteries) who underwent angiography, FD-OCT and
IVUS examination during the same procedure were studied. The FD-OCT and IVUS lumen borders were
placed onto the 3D luminal centreline derived from angiographic data. Three-dimensional geometry algo-
rithms and anatomical landmarks were used to estimate the orientation of the borders appropriately. ESS was
calculated using computational fluid dynamics. In 188 corresponding consecutive 3-mm segments, FD-OCT-
and IVUS-derived models were highly correlated for lumen area (r=0.96) and local ESS (r=0.89) measure-
ments. FD-OCT-based 3D reconstructions had a high diagnostic accuracy for detecting regions exposed to
proatherogenic low ESS identified on the IVUS-based 3D models, considered as the gold standard (receiver
operator characteristic area under the curve: 94.9%).
Conclusions: FD-OCT-based 3D coronary reconstruction provides anatomically correct models and permits
reliable ESS computation. ESS assessment in combination with the superior definition of plaque character-
istics by FD-OCT is expected to provide valuable insights into the effect of the haemodynamic environment
on the development and destabilisation of high-risk plaques.
KEYWORDS
• angiography
• endothelial shear
stress
• intravascular
ultrasound
• optical coherence
tomography
• three-dimensional
reconstruction