Publication

Ultrafast laser ablation for targeted atherosclerotic plaque removal

Abstract

Coronary artery disease, the main cause of heart disease, develops as immune cells and lipids accumulate into plaques within the coronary arterial wall. As a plaque grows, the tissue layer (fibrous cap) separating it from the blood flow becomes thinner and increasingly susceptible to rupturing and causing a potentially lethal thrombosis. The stabilization and/or treatment of atherosclerotic plaque is required to prevent rupturing and remains an unsolved medical problem. Here we show for the first time targeted, subsurface ablation of atherosclerotic plaque using ultrafast laser pulses. Excised atherosclerotic mouse aortas were ablated with ultrafast near-infrared (NIR) laser pulses. The physical damage was characterized with histological sections of the ablated atherosclerotic arteries from six different mice. The ultrafast ablation system was integrated with optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging for plaque-specific targeting and monitoring of the resulting ablation volume. We find that ultrafast ablation of plaque just below the surface is possible without causing damage to the fibrous cap, which indicates the potential use of ultrafast ablation for subsurface atherosclerotic plaque removal. We further demonstrate ex vivo subsurface ablation of a plaque volume through a catheter device with the high-energy ultrafast pulse delivered via hollow-core photonic crystal fiber.

About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Related concepts (43)
Coronary artery disease
Coronary artery disease (CAD), also called coronary heart disease (CHD), ischemic heart disease (IHD), myocardial ischemia, or simply heart disease, involves the reduction of blood flow to the heart muscle due to build-up of atherosclerotic plaque in the arteries of the heart. It is the most common of the cardiovascular diseases. Types include stable angina, unstable angina, myocardial infarction, and sudden cardiac death. A common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may travel into the shoulder, arm, back, neck, or jaw.
Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis in which the wall of the artery develops abnormalities, called lesions. These lesions may lead to narrowing due to the buildup of atheromatous plaque. At onset there are usually no symptoms, but if they develop, symptoms generally begin around middle age. When severe, it can result in coronary artery disease, stroke, peripheral artery disease, or kidney problems, depending on which arteries are affected. The exact cause is not known and is proposed to be multifactorial.
Coronary arteries
The coronary arteries are the arterial blood vessels of coronary circulation, which transport oxygenated blood to the heart muscle. The heart requires a continuous supply of oxygen to function and survive, much like any other tissue or organ of the body. The coronary arteries wrap around the entire heart. The two main branches are the left coronary artery and right coronary artery. The arteries can additionally be categorized based on the area of the heart for which they provide circulation.
Show more
Related publications (56)

Spatial analysis of 10-year predicted risk and incident atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: the CoLaus cohort

Stéphane Joost, Idris Guessous, David Nicolas De Ridder, Guillaume Jordan

Whether cardiovascular risk scores geographically aggregate and inform on spatial development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVD) remains unknown. Our aim is to determine the spatial distribution of 10-year predicted cardiovascular risk and ...
2024

Leukocyte Count and Coronary Artery Disease Events in People With Human Immunodeficiency Virus: A Longitudinal Study

Jacques Fellay, Christian Axel Wandall Thorball

Leukocyte count is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) events in the general population. Here we show that leukocytes are independently associated with CAD events in people with HIV in Switzerland, after adjusting for traditional and HIVrelated r ...
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC2023

Associations of genetic and infectious risk factors with coronary heart disease

Jacques Fellay, Christian Axel Wandall Thorball, Zhi Ming Xu, Flavia Aurelia Shoko Hodel, Roxane De La Harpe

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is one of the most pressing health problems of our time and a major cause of preventable death. CHD results from complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors. Using multiplex serological testing for persistent ...
eLIFE SCIENCES PUBL LTD2023
Show more
Related MOOCs (6)
Introduction à l'immunologie (part 1)
Ce cours décrit les mécanismes fondamentaux du système immunitaire pour mieux comprendre les bases immunologiques dela vaccination, de la transplantation, de l’immunothérapie, de l'allergie et des mal
Show more