Sodium [18f]fluoride positron emission tomography for non-invasive identification of micro-calcifications as marker of atherosclerotic plaque vulnerability

The aim of this thesis was to gain knowledge on calcification and inflammation during atherosclerosis (i.e., the fat build-up in vessels) and to investigate how vitamin K influences its development. Firstly, the most suitable method of imaging calcification using a radioactive tracer (i.e., Na[18F]F) was identified. Afterwards, checking the pros and cons of available treatments, vitamin K supplementation emerged as a possible safe and cost-effective option to inhibit vascular calcification. Animal experiments were performed to assess the feasibility of two different tracers to identify calcification and inflammation, respectively. Lastly, a clinical study was created to see whether the positive results generated from the animal experiments may be also applied to humans. This thesis argues for the practicability of the two radioactive tracers to monitor atherosclerotic plaque progression and treatment, while serving as an argument for the increase in the recommended daily dose of vitamin K.