Lesion length assessment using a new vessel caliper

• Published in: Catheterization and cardiovascular interventions Vol. 58; no. 2; pp. 168 - 174
• Main Authors: Wolyn, Robert, Dixon, Simon R., Almany, Steven L., Korotko, Joe, Huang, Raywin R., O'Neill, William W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01-02-2003; Wiley-Liss
• Subjects: Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary; Biological and medical sciences; Cardiology. Vascular system; coronary angiography; Coronary Angiography - instrumentation; Coronary Angiography - methods; coronary disease; Coronary Disease - diagnostic imaging; Coronary Disease - pathology; Coronary Disease - therapy; Coronary heart disease; Coronary Vessels - pathology; Heart; Humans; Medical sciences; Observer Variation; percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty; Radiography, Interventional - instrumentation; Radiography, Interventional - methods; stents; Human; Radiodiagnosis; Angiography; stents; Caliper; Stenosis; Cardiovascular disease; Instrumentation; Coronary heart disease; Artery; Arterial disease; Vascular disease; coronary disease; percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty; Diagnosis; Technique; coronary angiography
• ISSN: 1522-1946; 1522-726X
• DOI: 10.1002/ccd.10418

Assessment of coronary lesion length using visual estimation or quantitative coronary angiography can be unreliable. We tested the accuracy of a new handheld caliper device to measure lesion length in a bench‐top model and in eight patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Caliper–derived length measurements were compared to the known reference distance in the bench‐top model and visual or intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)‐derived measurements in vivo. In the coronary model, caliper‐derived measurements were accurate and correlated well with known reference distances regardless of the angiographic projection. During PCI, there was a poor correlation between the best visual estimate of length and IVUS‐derived measurements. In contrast, caliper‐derived measurements correlated closely with IVUS‐derived measurements. This handheld caliper provides a simple and accurate method of assessing intracoronary lesion length and may be particularly useful during coronary stenting and when adjunctive brachytherapy is performed. Cathet Cardiovasc Intervent 2003;58:168–174. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.