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Detection of Atherosclerotic Plaque using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy
Date Issued
01-01-2023
Author(s)
Srinidi, S.
Lohitaa, J.
Mercy, A.
John, Pauline
Madan Mohan, B.
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
Abstract
Atherosclerosis is one of the major causes of mortality worldwide. Identification of the plaque components in the coronary vessels is necessary to estimate the risk of cardiovascular disease and treatment at the early stage. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), a robust elemental analysis, was performed to obtain the elemental composition of normal and calcified plaque. For this process, phantoms mimicking the atherosclerotic plaques were fabricated using chemical constituents that highly match the optical properties of normal and calcified plaque. Further, optical transmission studies were performed in these phantoms around the wavelength of 1300 nm. A transmittance percentage of 44.8% and 0.75% were measured in the non-calcified and calcified plaque phantom, respectively. Studies based on LIBS provided prominent calcium peaks in calcified plaque at 400 nm, 590 nm and 780 nm, compared to non-calcified plaque. This can serve as a basic tool for the optical characterization of plaque and also lay a foundation for quantitative and elemental analysis of atherosclerotic plaque.