New study shows that OCT-AID can assess plaque burden on OCT

A recent study, led by Rick Volleberg conducted in collaboration with the OPCI core laboratory and St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center, demonstrates that OCT-AID, our AI-based algorithm for automated OCT vessel segmentation, can accurately assess plaque burden from intracoronary OCT images.

Traditionally, OCT provides high-resolution visualization of superficial features such as thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA), while IVUS has been considered necessary to evaluate deeper structures and quantify plaque burden.

In this study, 20 patients who underwent both OCT and IVUS imaging were analyzed, resulting in 862 coregistered cross-sections. OCT-AID automatically segmented the lumen and external elastic membrane, even in regions with limited EEM visibility. OCT-derived plaque burden showed a very strong correlation with IVUS-derived values, consistent across fibrous, lipidic, and calcified plaques.

This is the largest study to date validating OCT-based plaque burden assessment against IVUS, confirming that AI-driven full-vessel OCT analysis can provide reliable plaque burden measurements. These findings support OCT-AID as a step toward comprehensive, automated intracoronary plaque characterization, combining morphological and quantitative insights within a single imaging modality.

👉 Read more about the study here!