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.

PET is an energy hog, but relatively rare utilization lessens its carbon footprint. MRI and CT have no such ‘out’
Medical imaging machinery uses a lot of power, and the extent to which it quickens the pace of global warming is becoming clearer.
AI-powered coronary plaque assessments show ‘strong agreement’ with IVUS
HeartFlow's noninvasive Plaque Analysis technology, which uses AI to evaluate CCTA images, delivered assessments that mostly lined up with IVUS results.
Medical device startup gains FDA clearance for new RF guidewire, raises $12.5M
Atraverse Medical, a San Diego-based medical device company founded in 2022, designed the guidewire to give physicians as much freedom as possible while treating heart patients.
$Performing CT-derived fractional flow reserve (CT-FFR) before transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) improves the accuracy of coronary CT angiography (CCTA) and helps limit unneeded invasive coronary angiography (ICA), according to a new study published in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions. Heartflow$
AI-based CAD assessments dramatically improve vascular surgery outcomes
PAD patients evaluated with HeartFlow's noninvasive FFR_CTAnalysis technology prior to surgery experienced much better outcomes, including a 63% lower risk of all-cause mortality after five years.
Cardiology ranked No. 2 among all specialties with 122 FDA-cleared AI models
Only radiology is associated with more FDA-cleared AI algorithms than cardiology, according to new federal data.

CathVision ECGenius high fidelity EP recording system showing His bundle pacing demo at HRS 2023. Photo by Dave Fornell

FDA clears 2 new AI models that help with the diagnosis and treatment of arrhythmias

The two algorithms are now commercially available on a price-per-use basis.

August 16, 2023

Video of Partho Sengupta, MD, explaining two major shifts in AI for echocardiography at ASE 2023. These include GPT and deep learning to automate measurements. #ASE23 #ASE2023 #ASE #AI

2 key reasons the use of AI in echocardiography is growing

Partho Sengupta, MD, an expert on the use of AI in cardiology, says some of the technologies being developed today will fundamentally change how cardiologists and sonographers do their jobs.

August 16, 2023

Alternative access approaches for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures. courtesy of Interventional Cardiology Review 2018;13(3):145–50.

Alternative TAVR techniques: How to proceed when transfemoral access is not recommended

A team of researchers from the United States and Sweden explored data from nearly 12,000 TAVR patients for a new systematic review and meta-analysis.

August 11, 2023

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a new draft guidance designed to help applicants add clinically relevant information about QTc interval prolongation to the labeling of non-antiarrhythmic drugs

FDA highlights importance of including heart rhythm risks on drug labels

The agency has shared a new draft guidance focused on the inclusion of information related to QTc interval prolongation.

August 10, 2023

Video of Hari Naidu, MD, director of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center of Excellence at Westchester Medical Center, explaining the role of alcohol septal ablation and surgical myectomy in the era of mavacamten. #HCM #ASE

Surgery, interventional therapies still the best choice for many HCM patients

"You have to look at each patient and understand their goals," one HCM expert said in a new interview.

August 9, 2023

Boston Scientific’s POLARx Cryoablation System to treat atrial fibrillation gained FDA approval in August 2023. It is compatible with two balloon sizes, 31 and 28 mm to fit different sized anatomies.

FDA approves Boston Scientific’s new cryoablation system for AFib

The system includes an expandable cryoablation balloon catheter compatible with multiple balloon sizes.

August 9, 2023

HCM expert Sherif F. Nagueh, MD, FACC, FASE, professor of cardiology, Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center, explains the key points of HCM imaging. #ASE #HCM

How medical imaging helps cardiologists treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy expert Sherif F. Nagueh, MD, examined imaging's role in treating this serious condition.

August 9, 2023

Photo of a surgical cardiac septal myectomy to treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Nicholas Smedira MD discusses septal myectomy in HCM patients and the need for more detailed protocols for HCM care. #HCM #ASE #ASE2023 #myectomy

A surgeon's perspective on treating hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Nicholas Smedira, MD, a cardiovascular surgeon with Cleveland Clinic, discusses septal myectomy and the need to improve overall HCM care with new standards and evidence-based guidelines.

August 9, 2023

Cardiac Imaging

PET is an energy hog, but relatively rare utilization lessens its carbon footprint. MRI and CT have no such ‘out’

AI-powered coronary plaque assessments show ‘strong agreement’ with IVUS

Medical device startup gains FDA clearance for new RF guidewire, raises $12.5M

AI-based CAD assessments dramatically improve vascular surgery outcomes

Cardiology ranked No. 2 among all specialties with 122 FDA-cleared AI models