Investigating real‐world impact of optical coherence tomography workflow‐guided coronary interventions: Design and rationale of the LightLab Clinical Initiative

Objective The LightLab Clinical Initiative was designed to examine adoption of optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging during routine percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) practice, and enable identification and reduction of barriers to broader adoption of intracoronary imaging in real‐world practice. Background Intracoronary imaging guidance during PCI has been shown to improve clinical outcomes and features as a recommendation in societal guidelines, yet widespread routine adoption remains low. Perceived barriers to utilization include familiarity with, and ability to interpret imaging, concerns over added procedure time and contrast load, alongside a lack of actionable outcome data. Methods and Results LightLab was a multicenter prospective observational data‐gathering project, conducted between January 2019, and June 2021, with 17 participating hospitals and physicians. Data were gathered in real‐time, where OCT guidance was employed during PCI using a standardized OCT‐guided workflow algorithm, MLD MAX (where MLD stands for plaque Morphology, lesion Length, vessel Diameter and MAX for Medial dissection, stent Apposition, stent eXpansion) which was developed to simplify and integrate information from OCT throughout the PCI procedure. Integration of this workflow/algorithm was implemented through a series of phases, focusing on physician decision‐making, efficiency, and safety improvements during the procedure. Conclusions Through real‐time, prospective procedural data acquisition in the cardiac catheterization laboratory setting, the LightLab Clinical Initiative demonstrates the impact of a standardized OCT‐guided workflow on procedural metrics, including time, contrast use, radiation exposure, as well as financial efficiencies such as device utilization. These results can potentially mitigate underlying concerns over the utility of adoption of intracoronary imaging guidance during PCI.