Coronary artery disease (CAD) is caused by atherosclerotic plaque build-up in the walls of the arteries that supply blood to the heart. CAD is the most common type of heart disease, and makes up 45% of all deaths. It affected 85 million people and resulted in 3.9 million deaths in Europe in 2018. In patients with CAD, plaque disruption with superimposed thrombosis is the main cause of acute coronary syndromes, myocardial infarction, and sudden death.
At Smart Sensors Lab, we are developing a new comprehensive assessment method of plaque morphological and biomechanical state to improve the risk stratification of plaques with mild-to-moderate stenosis eventually reducing the risk of CAD.
