Imaging Vulnerable Plaques

VasoPET, a next-generation positron biotracer being developed by FluoroPharma, is designed to address the unmet clinical need of identifying vulnerable plaques.  These plaques are likely to rupture and cause a stroke or heart attack. Preclinical tests show that this fluorine-bearing radiopharmaceutical is taken up by inflammatory cells not found in stable plaque.

This agent is still in preclinical development, so it remains a speculative technology. The prospect is extraordinarily appealing for an agent that might be used in high-risk patients, particularly those being readied for cardiac catheterization.

“This technology could help the interventional cardiologist identify blood vessel segments that have vulnerable plaques to avoid them and the possibility of creating emboli in the vessel. In the future, this imaging might be used to preventively identify and treat these lesions. An imaging agent such as VasoPET would also be helpful in the development of therapeutics being tested for their ability to dissolve vulnerable plaques,” Spoor said.

Other modalities, including CT and MRI, cannot readily differentiate inflamed from stable plaques.

The challenge facing all these agents is whether they can deliver clinically significant results in the hands of routine practitioners and not just once in a while. Their results must be consistent and reproducible, rendering diagnostic and prognostic conclusions regardless of practitioner skill.