Figure 1

(a) Schematic (longitudinal-section view) of a model coronary artery with a symmetric and an asymmetric plaque located at its center. The green region represents the artery, red region is the lipid pool and white region is the calcification. All dimensions are in mm. (b) Longitudinal-sectional and three-dimensional views of an asymmetric plaque with different degrees of calcification. The left figure shows a fully calcified plaque, whereas the right figure shows a partially calcified plaque with a scattered distribution.