Clinical study on drug balloon therapy for left main coronary bifurcation lesions based on thermal infrared imaging

<h2>Abstract</h2> Left main coronary artery bifurcation disease is a treatment challenge in the field of coronary heart disease, characterized by high risk, poor prognosis, poor long-term efficacy of drug therapy, and high mortality rate. Although traditional interventional treatment strategies such as single stent and double stent procedures are widely used, the high rate of restenosis of the left circumflex branch (LCX) opening after the placement of the main stent remains a major problem. Thermal infrared imaging can monitor tissue blood flow perfusion and metabolic status in real-time and non invasively, providing a new evaluation method for coronary intervention therapy. The aim of this study is to explore the application value of thermal infrared imaging in the treatment of left main coronary bifurcation lesions with drug balloon (DCB), evaluate its effectiveness and safety in optimizing treatment parameters, reducing restenosis rate, and minimizing adverse cardiac events, and compare it with traditional double stent strategy. All patients in this article underwent preoperative and postoperative thermal infrared imaging to monitor changes in vascular wall temperature and blood flow perfusion. Using a high-sensitivity infrared thermal imager, real-time imaging and postoperative follow-up imaging are used to analyze drug release, vascular response, and long-term efficacy. The main outcome measures include immediate postoperative angiography results, incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) within 1 year after surgery, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) parameters, and thermal infrared imaging features. The results showed that the drug balloon group was significantly better than the double stent group in reducing the rate of left circumflex branch restenosis, late lumen loss (LLL), and MACE (<i>P</i> < 0.05). Thermal infrared imaging shows that the temperature changes of the blood vessel wall during drug balloon dilation are related to good treatment response, and the blood flow perfusion and metabolic status of the drug balloon group are better during postoperative follow-up. The thermal infrared imaging features are significantly correlated with vascular angiography and IVUS results, and can effectively predict vascular restenosis and adverse events.