Improved understanding of how plaques and lipid cores redistribute and under what conditions redistribution occurs could assist interventional cardiologists to better plan and perform complex procedures that involve bifurcation plaques. Improved procedural planning and prediction of shift can reduce instances of difficult side branch rescue and reduce occurrence of peri-procedural events, such as myocardial infarction. This may in turn lead to a reduction in overall complexity of treatment procedures, complication, and procedure recovery times.