SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CHARACTERIZING VASCULAR TISSUE

A system and method is provided for using ultrasound data backscattered from vascular tissue to estimate the transfer function of a catheter and/or substantially synchronizing the acquisition of blood-vessel data to an identifiable portion of heartbeat data. The backscattered ultrasound data is used, together with an algorithm, to estimate at least one transfer function. The transfer function(s) can then be used (at least in a preferred embodiment) to calculate response data for the vascular tissue (i.e., the tissue component of the backscattered ultrasound data). The response data and histology data are then used to characterize at least a portion of the vascular tissue (e.g., identify tissue type, etc.). In some embodiments, the backscattered data is acquired during a cyclical portion of the heartbeat data so that the blood vessel can be analyzed or imaged as if it were standing still, or not expanding and relaxing.