Although intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is an important tool in guiding complex coronary interventions, the resolution of existing commercial IVUS devices is considerably poorer than that of optical coherence tomography. Dual-frequency IVUS (DF IVUS), incorporating a second, higher frequency transducer, has been proposed as a possible method of overcoming this limitation. Although preliminary studies have shown that DF IVUS can produce complementary images, including large-scale morphology and high detail of superficial features, it has not yet been determined that this approach would be feasible in a more clinically relevant environment. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the first in vivo use of a 30/80 MHz DF IVUS catheter in visualizing coronary vessels in a porcine model. In addition, two commercially available stents were studied in vitro and in vivo. Clear subjective improvement of visualization of superficial structures is demonstrated, and sufficient dynamic range is achieved to image through both the catheter sheath and blood in vivo.

尽管血管内超声 (IVUS) 是指导复杂冠状动脉介入治疗的重要工具，但现有商用 IVUS 设备的分辨率远低于光学相干断层扫描。双频 IVUS (DF IVUS) 结合了第二个更高频率的换能器，已被提议作为克服这一限制的可能方法。尽管初步研究表明 DF IVUS 可以产生互补图像，包括大尺度形态学和表面特征的高细节，但尚未确定这种方法在更临床相关的环境中是否可行。这项研究的目的是证明第一个体内使用 30/80 MHz DF IVUS 导管在猪模型中可视化冠状血管。此外，还对两种市售支架进行了体外和体内研究。表面结构可视化的明显主观改进得到了证明，并且实现了足够的动态范围以通过体内导管鞘和血液进行成像。