Some 25 years since Dr. Yasumi Uchida and the Olympus Company in Japan started develop-ing a device to see the lumina of coronary arteries, a 288-page book is finally summarizing the status of an uncertain art: coronary angioscopy. The essential condition enabling the development of such a technology was the availability of fiberoptics, which made possible (in 1949) the utilization of a flexible endoscope, of potential use inside the coronary tree.
The transfer of endoscopic technology from the gastrointestinal to the endovascular domain required several adaptations: catheter miniaturization to a diameter of 1 to 1.5 mm; the temporary elimination of blood, to enable visualization of the endovascular lining; and a safe and effective system for subselective catheterization. Beyond the accomplishment of these technical objectives, the clinical usefulness of the tech-nique had to be demonstrated.
While neither the Food and Drug Administration nor the Health Care Financing Administration has yet approved any coronary angioscopy system for use in the United States, Dr. Uchida presents in this volume a richly illustrated record of his Japanese group's accomplishments in their long investigational and developmental effort.