Researchers from the University of Michigan used a unique application of a medical camera to view the carotid artery to assess the risk of atherosclerosis. According to researchers at the University of Michigan School of Medicine used a scanning fiber endoscope, or SFE, to acquire high-quality images of potential atherosclerosis regions of the carotid artery that can be missed by conventional radiological techniques. "The camera actually goes inside the vessels," Dr. Luis Savastano is a Michigan Medicine resident neurosurgeon and first author of the study. He said in a press release, "We can see with very high resolution the surface of the vessels and any lesions, such as a ruptured plaque, that could cause a stroke. This technology may even be able to show which silent, but at-risk, plaques may cause a cardiovascular event in the future."