Scanner to Find Fatty Deposits in Vessels

A company has come out with a new device that uses Infrared laser to locate fatty pools in the vessel walls of the arteries. InfraReDx is the company, and their new equipment is meant to help doctors specifically locate and determine where these lipid pools are in the artery walls. Researchers feel that its not just a clog in the artery that causes a heart attack, so they want to be able to locate these "pools" because it is at these sites where the artery wall ruptures that causes the heart attack. This is even helped out by stenting which was thought to erase the problem, but they are not so sure anymore. The device is mainly the next step in imaging that allows atherosclerosis to be identified and treated quicker and better.

I found this interesting and relevant because we did do cardiovascular this semester. Also, myself and my dad's side of the family all have high levels of cholesterol, so I like to see that they are doing something that can find the "heart attack" risk before it happens. Another reason is because atherosclerosis is becoming a larger and larger problem in the US because of our high fat diets, so this can help detect patients who need treatment more efficiently.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/business/26plaque.html?ref=health