<title>OCT imaging of the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems</title>

Abstract

In this presentation, the application of optical coherence tomography (OCT) to the prevention of myocardial infarction and early identification of osteoarthritis is discussed. Myocardial infarction or a heart attack is the leading cause of death worldwide. It results from an acute loss of blood flow to a region of the heart resulting in death to that heart tissue. Most heart attacks are caused by small, thin walled lipid filled plaques which can not be detected by currently available imaging technologies. This paper outlines some of the advances demonstrating the potential of OCT for the identification of high risk plaque. Osteoarthritis is a major cause of mobility in the industrialized world. The hallmark of the disease is a degradation of articular cartilage. As new therapeutics have been shown to be effective in animal models, there effectiveness in humans remains unclear as there is no effective method for accurate monitoring changes in cartilage. In the second part of this manuscript, the effectiveness of OCT for monitoring articular cartilage is described.