# Dual-modality FLIm and PSOCT for intravascular imaging of plaque in patients

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · 2023 · $699,304

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The clinical management of coronary artery disease (CAD) and the prevention of acute coronary syndromes
(ACS) require knowledge of the underlying atherosclerotic plaque pathobiology. Current intravascular
standalone imaging techniques are limited in their ability to evaluate processes that lead to plaque progression
and sudden changes in plaque structure (e.g. rupture or erosion) conducive to ACS in humans. Hybrid
intravascular imaging systems hold premises for a more comprehensive evaluation of plaque pathobiology in
patients and are urgently needed. Our goal is to address this need through the development of an intravascular
imaging approach capable of simultaneous assessment of changes in plaque biochemical composition and
morphology associated with critical pathobiological processes in patients. We propose to advance an
intravascular imaging system combining two complementary label-free optical techniques, specifically,
Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging (FLIm) and Polarization Sensitive Optical Coherent Tomography (PSOCT) via
an innovative bimodal imaging catheter suitable for percutaneous coronary imaging (PCI). This dual-modality
approach should 1) yield great insight into the interplay of biochemical-morphological features that have a key
role in plaque progression, destabilization and/or remodeling and 2) enable immediate display this information
in near real-time, in a visual format useful for guiding personalized management of coronary lesions at the time
of cardiac catheterization. The proposed technique will be able to perform safe and rapid co-registered
measurement of (1) time-resolved fluorescence decays in multiple spectral emission bands, and (2) polarization-
resolved optical tomographic data in a single pullback. To achieve our goal, we will first construct a FLIm-PSOCT
catheter system including a freeform reflective optic providing optimized optical performance for both FLIm and
PSOCT (Aim 1). Second, to demonstrate FLIm-PSOCT’s performance for fast and simultaneous/synergetic
assessment of critical biochemical features associated with distinct morphological features, we will use the
proposed hybrid system to image human coronary samples (ex vivo), with histopathology corroboration (Aim2).
Finally, we will deploy this system in patients (first-in-human) to evaluate plaques during cardiac catheterization
and determine clinical feasibility (Aim 3). The successful completion of this study will demonstrate the clinical
feasibility and utility of intracoronary FLIm-PSOCT for assessment of critical plaque features likely to cause ACS.
If such features can be reliably detected, the patients undergoing PCI procedures may benefit from personalized
treatment of these plaques and improved outcome.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10677774
- **Project number:** 5R01HL157712-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Brett E Bouma
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $699,304
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-09-10 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10677774

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10677774, Dual-modality FLIm and PSOCT for intravascular imaging of plaque in patients (5R01HL157712-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10677774. Licensed CC0.

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