Vulnerable Plaque Detection Using Intracoronary Thermography and Cold Saline Injection

Intracoronary Thermography (ICT) is a method which is primarily used for the detection of warmer arterial regions by a dedicated catheter with miniature temperature sensors at the catheter tip. A major goal for the ICT is to detect vulnerable plaques, which are the main cause of myocardial infraction, and hence a major life risk factor. The underlining hypothesis is that atherosclerotic lesions, which are considered as an inflammatory desease [1], will present on their intimal surface higher temperature than a normal, healthy arterial wall.