So the competition is on to find better ways of locating risky plaque. Doctors say they can already use special MRI machines to see vulnerable plaque in the carotid arteries that lead to the brain. Visualizing the heart is harder, in part because it's moving. However, Dr. Valentin Fuster of Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City says he believes this should soon be possible. Unlike the other techniques, nothing is inserted into the body.
Organic compound absorb infrared light in unique ways.
So shining light on a living structure, such as an artery wall, produces a specific chemical signature, depending on what it contains. This is already used to grade the fat content of beef. Researchers at InfraReDx are developing an infrared probe that would be threaded into the coronary arteries. Plaques that rupture tend to be inflamed, so they have a higher temperature. Scientists are working on probes that would check the temperature of the arteries to search for risky plaque.