E-Mail IMAGE: A new technique known as intravascular laser speckle imaging could one day be used to detect coronary plaques that are likely to lead to a heart attack. The researchers developed... view more Credit: Seemantini Nadkarni, Wellman Center for Photomedicine WASHINGTON -- Researchers have developed a new intravascular imaging technique that could one day be used to detect coronary plaques that are likely to lead to a heart attack. Heart attacks are often triggered when an unstable plaque ruptures and then blocks a major artery that carries blood and oxygen to the heart. "If unstable coronary plaques could be detected before they rupture, pharmacological or other treatments could be initiated early to prevent heart attacks and save lives," said research team leader Seemantini Nadkarni from the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. "Our new imaging technique represents a major step toward achieving this."