These include Intravascular ultrasonography, which uses an ultrasound transducer on the tip of a catheter to produce images of the arterial lumen and wall Angioscopy, which uses special fiberoptic catheters that can directly visualize the arterial surface Plaque thermography, which is used to detect the increased temperature in plaques with active inflammation Optical coherence tomography, which uses infrared laser light for imaging Elastography, which is used to identify soft, lipid-rich plaques Immunoscintigraphy is a noninvasive alternative that uses radioactive tracers that localize in vulnerable plaque.