Endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) is widely used to monitor and diagnose heart disease and dysfunction. Currently, EMB is performed with minimal visualization of the myocardium that is sampled. This reduces operator precision, often requiring multiple biopsies that can cause scarring. This technology proposes an improvement to EMB catheter design by incorporating optical coherence tomographic (OCT) imaging. This technology allows the operator to visualize the myocardium and biopsy location with OCT, which improves specificity of the EMB, decreases the need for multiple biopsies, and improves diagnostic yield.
Current EMB technology is performed without any visualization of the myocardium. This “blind” biopsy method results in low diagnostic yield. This technology proposes an EMB catheter design and diagnostic system using optical coherence tomographic imaging so that practitioners can guide the bioptome catheter to ideal biopsy sites. As a result, EMB with OCT-guidance reduces the number and length of procedures for patients. The system described in this technology includes: 1) an OCT system engine that may have polarization sensitive capabilities and a broad bandwidth for high resolution, 2) a catheter with a forward-facing OCT fiber optic and bioptome, and 3) a set of backend algorithms for real-time processing of OCT images for diagnostic utility.
A prototype of the technology has been tested in vivo in humans and has been shown to be highly sensitive. Specific diagnostic algorithms for identifying myocardial disease are currently being refined using OCT imaging data of human myocardial tissue.
Patent Pending
Tech Ventures Reference: IR CU14120, CU14027