# Sensing Vulnerable Plaque in vivo by an All-optical Intravascular Ultrasound and Photoacoustic Catheter

> **NIH NIH R01** · BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS) · 2020 · $612,478

## Abstract

Project Summary:
 Vulnerable plaques are the main contributor to acute coronary syndrome. In early stages, vulnerable plaques
are not blood flow limiting, thus not visible in X-ray angiography. Thin cap fibroatheroma, which is found to be
the precursor lesion associated with plaque rupture, is featured by a thin fibrous cap, a large necrotic lipid pool,
and inflammation. Under the support of R01HL125385, our team developed an intravascular photoacoustic
(IVPA) imaging modality for in vivo detection of lipid-laden plaques, which simultaneously measures lipid-specific
components and their depth in an artery wall, summarized in 9 journal articles and 2 book chapters. Towards
the long-term goal of identification and quantification of lipid-laden vulnerable plaque in human patients, we
recognize that current piezoelectric-transducer-based IVPA technology has intrinsic limitations. First, the
sensitivity for lipid detection is limited by the insufficient coverage of the low-frequency PA signal; Second, the
bandwidth of piezoelectric transducer is not large enough to provide sufficient axial resolution to identify the thin
fibrous cap (typically < 65 μm); Third, the piezoelectric transducer makes it difficult for the eventual size of an
IVPA catheter to meet the clinical requirement (< 1 mm in diameter). To address the limitations, this competitive
renewal R01 proposal aims to develop a novel all-optical IVUS/PA catheter and validate the system by in vivo
imaging of arteries in a clinically relevant Ossabaw swine model. An interdisciplinary team is assembled to
achieve this objective. Dr. Ji-Xin Cheng (PI, Boston University) is an expert in development and applications of
novel label-free optical imaging methods. Dr. Michael Sturek (co-investigator, Indiana University School of
Medicine) is an expert in vascular research and atherosclerotic animal model development. Dr. Islam A. Bolad
(consultant, Indiana University School of Medicine) is an interventional cardiologist who has over 20 years of
experience on clinical research with multimodal intravascular imaging tools; Dr. Qifa Zhou (consultant, University
of Southern California) is an expert of ultrasound transducers. Dr. Yingchun Cao (Research Scientist, Boston
University) is an expert on fiber optics and catheter development. We will take three steps to build this all-optical
IVUS/PA catheter. In Aim 1, we will develop a dual-frequency IVPA/US catheter with optical-resolution PA
imaging capacity. In Aim 2, we will develop and validate an all-optical IVPA/US catheter with high sensitivity and
high axial resolution. In Aim 3, we will validate the all-optical IVUS/PA system by in vivo intracoronary imaging
on an Ossabaw swine model. Our intravascular fiber-optic ultrasound generation and detection approach will
provide significantly extended bandwidth, which not only allows sensitive detection of the low frequency PA
signal, but also overcomes the long-standing insufficient spatial resolution of both IV...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10052055
- **Project number:** 2R01HL125385-05A1
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS)
- **Principal Investigator:** Ji-Xin Cheng
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $612,478
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2015-08-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10052055

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10052055, Sensing Vulnerable Plaque in vivo by an All-optical Intravascular Ultrasound and Photoacoustic Catheter (2R01HL125385-05A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10052055. Licensed CC0.

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