
308 Handbook of Biomedical Optics
a small study of 42 stents placed in 39 patients, incomplete stent
apposition was found in 17% of cases (Bouma et al. 2003), but
only 7% when detected with IVUS. e eect of stent malappo-
sition is not fully understood, but it is thought that it could lead
to subacute thrombosis and delay the healing process. OCT may
play a future role in guiding stent implantation. Preimplantation
OCT may be useful for determining the appropriate stent size
and type. In addition, postimplantation OCT can check for
stent apposition and level of stent expansion, and automated
algorithms are being developed to detect and ...