‘World-first’ treatment of patient with high-frequency OCT for cardiology intervention

18 May 2021

Technique used at Tampa General Hospital to help place three stents; method enables smaller catheter to be inserted.

A partnership of Tampa General Hospital (TGH) and University of South Florida’s Health Interventional Cardiology Group have adopted a new intravascular imaging technology and performed the first such procedure in the world.

The new intravascular technology, called High Frequency Optical Coherence Tomography (HF-OCT), was recently performed on a patient with critical coronary artery disease, which the partners say, “was the first such successfully treated in the world.”

Tampa General has been an early adopter of intravascular imaging for coronary intervention and continues to seek the newest and best technology. The team has incorporated intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and intravascular optical coherence tomography to look inside the blood vessels.

The hospital is now using the FDA-cleared Gentuity HF-OCT Imaging System with the Vis-Rx Micro-Imaging Catheter to treat patients who are candidates for certain interventional procedures. The system utilizes fiber-optic technology to deliver near-infrared light and receive light reflected from coronary tissue to produce images.

‘Microscopic level of detail’

The image resolution of the Gentuity HF-OCT system provides the operator with a microscopic level of detail showing the vessel from the inside (see Figures, right). In this case, the catheter is 60% smaller than the current generation of intravascular imaging devices, which enables imaging of very narrowed blood vessels that were not previously possible.

“Recently we had the opportunity to treat the first patient in the world with HF-OCT,” commented Dr. Hiram Bezerra, professor and section chief of interventional cardiology in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and director of the Interventional Cardiology Center within the USF Health/TGH Heart and Vascular Institute.

“The case was performed on a patient with critical coronary artery disease who received three stents and the HF-OCT helped guided stent selection and optimization with excellent results. This breakthrough technology consists of a next generation high-speed laser technology that allows image acquisition of the entire vessel in one second. I am so proud of our team.”

Stent-complementary

Percutaneous coronary intervention, also known as coronary stenting, is the placement of a small metal mesh tube that expands inside a coronary artery to prevent the artery from closing again. It is widely available across the community to treat coronary artery disease (coronary blockage).

The adoption of special catheters for intravascular imaging typically allows optimum results on coronary stenting. By applying intravascular imaging, physicians can more precisely identify the underlying plaque composition, plan the intervention, and check the result. TGH is the first site in the country to begin using the technology as one of three sites participating in a clinical study to evaluate the effectiveness of the Gentuity®system.

“USF Health/Tampa General is the first site in the country with access to this new technology,” said Bezerra. “We will continue to participate and lead the efforts in identifying new applications for this technology in future clinical trials and incorporate HF-OCT as a routine adjunctive image for our coronary interventional arsenal.”