Laser sheds light on heart attack plaques

The research, carried out at Warwick University’s WMG (Warwick Manufacturing Group), Rice University’s Baker Institute, and Monash University in Australia, used near-infrared light to identify the high-risk plaques. By increasing the wavelength of the light currently used to image the fatty build-up found in arteries (atherosclerotic plaques) the team found it could selectively identify the rupture-prone deposits. The work is published in the journal Nature Communications.

"Despite the millions of dollars spent each year particularly on heart imaging, there still isn't a reliable way of identifying these unstable plaques," said Monash University’s Dr Karlheinz Peter.

"We realised when we shine a light in the near-infrared wavelength range, that this light is reflected at a certain wavelength. So in a way we can use laser light to shine up the plaques that are unstable, and it's very characteristic."

Some arterial plaque deposits can remain stable for years, but other high-risk cases can develop complications such as bleeding into the plaque, which leads to the formation of cracks and rupture of the deposit. This can result in vessels developing clots, causing a heart attack or stroke. According to the researchers, current imaging techniques are able to identify some characteristics of high-risk plaques, but none are generally accepted as reliable methods for selectively detecting the dangerous plaques.