Percutaneous coronary angioscopy: methods, findings, and therapeutic implications.

The development and clinical implementation of percutaneous coronary angioscopy represents an engineering triumph, blending the newest technologies and materials in the field of fiberoptics with the most advanced techniques of balloon angioplasty catheter materials and construction. Current devices provide a safe method for acquiring excellent quality images of the coronary arteries. This is due to major advances in catheter alignment techniques allowing coaxial positioning of the angioscope in the relatively tortuous coronary arteries. Additional development is needed to further refine the degree of operator control over the field of view, which would also reduce procedure duration. The percutaneous coronary angioscope is currently a functional device for investigators attempting to correlate the morphology of atherosclerotic lesions and clinical coronary artery disease. Confirmation of the value of the angioscope as a clinically useful device for routine application in the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease will depend upon the results of further studies.