Evaluation of acute percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) results and long-term follow-up remains challenging with ongoing stent designs. Several imaging tools have been developed to assess native vessel atherosclerosis and stent expansion, improving overall PCI results and reducing adverse cardiac events. Quantitative coronary analysis has played a crucial role in quantifying the extent of coronary artery disease and stent results. Digital stent enhancement methods have been well validated and improved stent strut visualization. Intravascular imaging remains the gold standard in PCI guidance but adds costs and time to the procedure. With a recent shift towards non-invasive imaging assessment and coronary computed tomography angiography imaging have shown promising results. We hereby review novel stent visualization techniques used to guide PCI and assess stent patency in the modern PCI era.
Keywords: Coronary computed tomography angiography; Digital stent enhancement; Intravascular ultrasound; Optical coherence tomography; Percutaneous coronary intervention; Quantitative coronary analysis; Stent underexpansion; Stent visualization.
©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.