Assessments of microvascular function in organ systems

Area of Science:

• Physiology
• Medical Imaging
• Vascular Biology

Background:

• Microvascular disease significantly impacts organ system function.
• Current assessment methods for microvasculature vary, with some assessing organs directly and others using accessible surrogates like skin or retina.
• Despite research, clinical adoption of microvascular assessment tools is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review novel approaches for assessing microvasculature health in key organ systems.
• To evaluate the clinical utility and future development potential of these novel methods.
• To address challenges in assessing coronary microvasculature due to its complexity and in vivo visualization difficulties.

Main Methods:

• Review of current and emerging techniques for microvascular assessment.
• Evaluation of methods applied to various organ systems.
• Analysis of factors limiting clinical translation, including standardization and therapeutic options.

Main Results:

• Several novel approaches are being explored to assess microvasculature health.
• Challenges remain in standardizing protocols and developing targeted therapies for microvascular dysfunction.
• The coronary microvasculature presents unique difficulties for in vivo assessment.

Conclusions:

• Novel methods show promise for evaluating microvasculature health across organ systems.
• Standardization and targeted therapies are essential for broader clinical implementation.
• Further research is needed to overcome visualization challenges, particularly for coronary microvasculature.