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Table 1 Sample content from the ‘Augmented Curriculum’ for OCT image interpretation

From: Immersive educational curriculum on intracoronary optical coherence tomography image analysis among naïve readers

Augmented Curriculum

Basics, plaque type/features, and measurements

 1. Measure the outer area of the catheter sheath

 2. Identify and outline the vessel lumen, intima, media, and adventitia

 3. Measure the luminal and external elastic membrane areas

 4. Identify the guidewire shadow by tracing its borders with the “length” tool

 5. Measure the maximal intimal thickness three times to ensure consistency

 6. Does this cross-sectional image classify as intimal thickening or fibrous plaque?

 7. Adjust the calibration using the “adjust calibration” tool at the bottom of the screen

 8. Identify the predominant plaque type

 9. Measure the calcium and lipid areas and arcs

 10. Measure the minimum fibrous cap thickness three times

 11. Does this lipid plaque classify as a ThCFA or TCFA?

 12. Identify and describe the plaque features and list possible etiologies of the observed patterns

Stents

 1. Using the “area” tool, outline the stent circumference. Is this stent well-apposed?

 2. What is the maximal distance from the stent to the vessel wall?

 3. What is the predominant feature of this cross-sectional image?

Artifacts

 1. Measure the luminal area

 2. Identify the imaging artifacts

Practice pullback

 1. Identify the reference and minimal lumen frames and measure the areas

 2. Calculate the percentage area stenosis of the minimal lumen area

 3. Identify the proximal and distal edges of the lesion by frame number

 4. Calculate the lesion length

  1. Sample questions from the ‘Augmented Curriculum’, many of which were repeated across multiple OCT pullback segments. Immediate feedback was provided to subjects via written answers that included detailed content explanations and associated references, as well as via expert-annotated, freeze-framed cross-sectional images located in a separate folder within the imaging software
  2. ThCFA Thick-cap fibroatheroma, TCFA Thin-cap fibroatheroma