UCLA

This study is the first assessment of feasibility and clinical usefulness of an imaging wire. The device used is a 0.018" flexible cable mounting a 30 MHz piezoelectric crystal at the end. The only possible application of the wire in its current configuration is the assessment of balloon expansion with over-the-wire balloon catheters. In this study, 17 lesions were examined in 14 patients. Despite careful removal of the air, no image could be obtained with the balloon deflated or through the shaft of conventional balloon catheters. When the balloon was inflated to 1-4 atm the circular echo-free cross-section of the balloon became visible, surrounded by the dense line of the balloon membrane and by the vessel wall. By examining the stent area at different balloon pressures, it was possible to determine the stent recoil between maximal balloon expansion and lowest balloon pressure allowing a readable ultrasound image. These encouraging preliminary observations confirm the feasibility of the use of an ultrasound guidewire for monitoring balloon expansion during stent implantation. After high pressure inflation, a moderate reduction of the stent lumen was observed during deflation, compatible with the small recoil predicted for the stainless-steel mesh stent used.