Cardiac Imaging

While cardiac ultrasound is the widely used imaging modality for heart assessments, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nuclear imaging are also used and are often complimentary, each offering specific details about the heart other modalities cannot. For this reason the clinical question being asked often determines the imaging test that will be used.

Left, HeartFlow's RoadMap analysis enables cardiac CT readers to identify stenoses in the major coronary arteries. The AI provides visualization and quantification of the location and severity of anatomic narrowings. Right image, HeartFlow's Plaque Analysis AI algorithm automates assessment of coronary plaque characteristics and volume on CCTA exams to greatly reduce the time it takes to manually assess and quantify these features.

HeartFlow gains FDA clearance for 2 new AI-powered imaging assessments

The solutions, Plaque Analysis and RoadMap Analysis, both use coronary CT angiography to provide clinicians with a noninvasive look at patients who present with coronary artery disease and face a heightened myocardial infarction risk.

October 18, 2022
Dhanunjaya "DJ" Lakkireddy, MD, executive medical director for the Kansas City Heart Rhythm Institute at HCA Midwest Health, professor of medicine at the University of Missouri, Columbia, deputy editor for the the Journal of Atrial Fibrillation, and serves on the HRS Board of Trustees and section steering committee chair for the ACC, explains the potentially devastating impact of Medicare cuts on electrophysiology (EP) and patient care.

VIDEO: Medicare cuts could devastate the field of electrophysiology

"By imposing a 35%-42% cut, [CMS] has essentially created a scenario where it is going to destroy electrophysiology as a field," explained Dhanunjaya "DJ" Lakkireddy, MD.

October 4, 2022
Example of QFR technology, which uses a rotation of the C-arm around the patient to create a 3D model and a color coded map showing the FFR values and drops in blood flow.

FFR-angiography guided lesion selection for PCI improves two-year outcomes in TCT late-breaker

Two-year outcomes of a QFR-guided vessel and lesion selection strategy showed that the benefits of QFR guidance continued to accrue over time compared with standard angiography guidance in patients undergoing PCI.

September 27, 2022
High-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with an Impella heart pump is associated with better outcomes, including a significantly higher survival rate, than high-risk PCI with an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP), according to new findings published in the American Journal of Cardiology. Impella Heart Pump Abiomed RECOVER IV RCT cardiogenic shock

Regulatory Roundup: FDA clears AI model for RV/LV ratios, approves calcium-blocking TAVR valve and much more

Read our review of some of the biggest FDA-related stories that have hit cardiology in the last month, including news from Viz.ai, Edwards Lifesciences, Abiomed and Medtronic. 

September 23, 2022
A study published this week in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC): Cardiovascular Imaging shows artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms can more rapidly and objectively determine calcium scores in computed tomographic (CT) and positron emission tomographic (PET) images than physicians.[1] The AI also performed well when the images were obtained from very-low-radiation CT attenuation scans. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcmg.2022.06.006

Artificial intelligence can objectively determine cardiac calcium scores faster than doctors

A new study shows artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms can more rapidly and objectively determine calcium scores in CT and PET/CT images than physicians.

September 16, 2022
Affera Inc Medtronic $925 million catheter ablation atrial fibrillation (AFib)

Medtronic completes acquisition of heart rhythm tech company in a deal reportedly worth $925M

Affera’s portfolio includes interventional solutions such as the Affera Prism-1 mapping and navigation platform, designed to help electrophysiologists diagnose heart rhythm issues, and the Sphere-9 cardiac ablation catheter. 

August 31, 2022
The Medtronic CoreValve Evolut and the Edwards Lifesciences Sapien 3 TAVR valves.

TAVR's success has changed how cardiologists and surgeons view aortic valve replacement

The standard-of-care thinking on TAVR has shifted from getting a valve implanted and managing immediate complications to looking decades down the road and considering the patient's long-term health. 

August 31, 2022
ESC Congress 2022 European Society of Cardiology. 6 key sessions from ESC Congress 2022: TAVR mortality, AI vs. sonographers, radial vs. femoral access and more

6 key sessions from ESC Congress 2022: TAVR mortality, AI vs. sonographers, radial vs. femoral access and more

ESC Congress 2022, the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology, was jam-packed with eye-opening new research from many of the leading voices in cardiovascular and vascular medicine. These six sessions were just some of the weekend's many highlights. 

August 29, 2022

Around the web

The recall includes specific lots of five different medical devices used to treat stroke and other neurovascular diseases.

The agency is urging healthcare providers to transition away from these devices and seek out alternatives. It is even working with other manufacturers to try and get similar products on the market as quickly as possible. 

Jeffrey Kuvin, MD, one of the leading voices behind efforts to create a new Board of Cardiovascular Medicine, spoke with Cardiovascular Business about where things stand today.

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