Virtual blood vessel technology can improve care for heart disease

Patients with heart disease could benefit from less extensive interventions thanks to cutting-edge technology that creates 3D computer models of blood flow through the heart's arteries, according to research presented at the British Cardiovascular Society in Manchester.

When the research team trialed the VIRTUHeartTM technology with doctors treating heart attack patients, they found that using it would have changed the treatment of more than 20 per cent of patients. In many cases, it would have led to fewer patients undergoing an invasive procedure such as having a stent fitted.

By giving doctors a clearer picture of a patient’s arteries, the research showed that VIRTUHeart could help more heart patients to get the right treatment for them, free up doctors’ time and better meet demand on heart care services. Angiograms can be hard to interpret when an artery is only partly blocked, and this can make it challenging for treatment decisions to be made, particularly when doctors are managing patients with complex heart disease.

Using only the images from a patient’s angiogram, VIRTUHeartTM works as a “virtual FFR” and creates computer models of their blood vessels, allowing doctors to calculate blood flow and find out more about the extent of blockages.

Reference:

Dr Hazel Arfah Haley et al,BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION