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Features
Philips Acquisition of Volcano Completed
Philips cath lab
As expected, Royal Philips has completed its acquisition of San Diego-based Volcano Corporation, making Philips the only manufacturer of cardiovascular imaging systems to offer both angiographic (X-ray) and intravascular imaging and guidance options, such as FFR and UVUS.... (read more)
FDA Approves HeartFlow FFR-CT: Non-Invasive Method for Determining Coronary Ischemia
HeartFlow FFR-CT 3D Analysis
The FDA has approved HeartFlow's FFR-CT software for measuring coronary blockages non-invasively. While the accuracy of FFR-CT to correctly differentiate significant blockages from those not needing revascularization is only in the mid-80% range, the fact that a CT scan can be performed quickly, non-invasively, and with relatively low radiation doses, makes this procedure a significant contender to the extremely common nuclear stress test, and a potential game-changer in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease.... (read more)
Fractional Flow Reserve: Measuring Pressures in the Marketplace
Andreas Gruentzig in Cath Lab
The FFR market has been a duopoly, split almost evenly between St. Jude Medical and Volcano Corporation. While these companies compete with each other, both have expressed upon occasion that the real challenge to increasing their sales and profits is not in gaining share from each other, but from expanding the field of FFR as a whole. However, some new smaller device companies are beginning to enter the marketplace. And the technology is slightly different: instead of pressure wires, these newer systems are utilizing fiber-optics.... (read more)
FFR and iFR: Roadmapping Your Heart, "With Traffic"
Google Maps with traffic
What has become clearer in the past few years is that seeing is not believing. The angiogram may show a narrowing, but that narrowing may not be causing a reduced flow of blood to the heart, a.k.a. "ischemia." Stenting or bypassing such a "non-ischemic" narrowing may not be of much benefit to the patient, but it will add a small risk factor of stent restenosis or perhaps a surgical complication.... (read more)
Infraredx Gains Approval in Japan for Its NIR/IVUS Coronary Imaging System
Infraredx TVC Imaging System
Infraredx has announced that it has received approval in Japan for its TVC Imaging System, the only FDA-approved device to visualize and identify the large lipid core plaques that are thought to be most likely to cause a heart attack. Japan makes up 50% of the worldwide intravascular imaging market....(read more)
FDA Approves Volcano's iFR® Pressure Measurement Modality for Use in Coronary Stent Guidance
Volcano's iFR system measures intracoronary pressures without need for adenosine
The FDA has granted approval to Volcano's proprietary coronary pressure measurement modality, iFR (Instant wave-Free Ratio). iFR represents a significant advance in the field of functional measurement (FM), in which the actual flow pressures inside the coronary artery can be measured and the deficit caused by a coronary blockage or lesion can be accurately assessed.... (read more)
Can Near-Infrared Imaging Predict Heart Attack Risk?
Infraredx TVC Imaging System
What causes a heart attack? Is it a physical narrowing in the coronary artery, a blockage that can be seen on angiography? Or is it more likely the eruption of a lipid-rich plaque, a so-called vulnerable plaque, that may not look significant in percent stenosis during a standard catheterization? To find an answer, MedStar Heart Institute and Infraredx announced enrollment of the first patient in the Lipid-Rich Plaque (LRP) Study, which will involve 100 centers worldwide and has a target enrollment of 9,000 patients.... (read more)
FFR: Why Isn't Everyone Using It?
An IVUS State of Mind
Antonio Colombo, MD
Most cardiologists use an angiogram, a two-dimensional "shadow image" of the coronary arteries, to make treatment decisions. But those who use IVUS and other intravascular technologies see a different picture: a cross-sectional "slice" and a 3-D reconstruction of the blockage. It's what IVUS pioneer Dr. Antonio Columbo calls "an IVUS mentality" and it has forever affected the way he interprets what is going on inside the coronary arteries.... (read more)
Intravascular News
•  All Intravascular Guidance News
ACIST Showcases Hi-Definition IVUS System
FFR and iFR: Roadmapping Your Heart, With Traffic
Infraredx Gains Approval in Japan for Its NIR/IVUS Coronary Imaging System
Glenn vs. The Volcano: Engaged Sends a Letter to Volcano Corporation
Medtronic Enters the FFR and IVUS Technology Field With ACIST Co-Promotion Agreement
Boston Scientific Launches POLARIS™ Imaging System
Volcano Announces Limited Market Release of SyncVision™ Technology System
FDA Approves Volcano's iFR® Pressure Measurement Modality for Use in Coronary Stent Guidance
Can Near-Infrared Imaging Predict Heart Attack Risk?
Experts on Intravascular Guidance
Justin E. Davies MBBS, MRCP, PhD
iFR: Measuring Stenosis Severity Without the Need for Pharmacologic Vasodilation
Dr. Justin Davies of Imperial College London discusses the results of the ADVISE study and its potential implications for patient comfort and assessment of procedural success.... (read more)
William Fearon, MD
How Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) Improves Stent Decision-Making
Dr. William Fearon, co-principal investigator at Stanford of the FAME and FAME II studies, assesses fractional flow reserve as a diagnostic tool and gives a preview of FAME II... (read more)
Augusto D. Pichard, MD
Why Does Dr. Pichard Use IVUS on Every PCI?
Dr. Augusto Pichard, Director of the Cath Lab at Washington Hospital Center shares his experience with IVUS and “spot-stenting”... (read more)
Giulio Guagliumi, MD
OCT and Stent Healing
Dr. Giulio Guagliumi, an internationally recognized leader in the use of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) in the coronary arteries, discusses what OCT tells us about stent healing and how it compares with IVUS for intravascular imaging...... (read more)
Dr. Nico Pijls
What the FAME Study Means for Stenting
Dr. Nico Pijls, principal investigator of the FAME study discusses how Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) can reduce costs and improve patient outcomes.... (read more)
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Dr. Szilard Voros
How VH-IVUS Can Aid in Diagnosing CAD
Dr. Szilard Voros discusses how Virtual Histology Intravascular Ultrasound (VH-IVUS) has the potential to visualize so-called "vulnerable plaque".... (read more)
Ron Waksman, MD
IVUS May Reduce Stent Thrombosis and Improve Outcomes
Dr. Ron Waksman's study of 884 patients showed IVUS has the potential to influence treatment strategy and reduce both DES thrombosis and the need for repeat revascularization.... (read more)
Dr. Marc D. Feldman
OCT in the U.S.
Dr. Marc Feldman, co-inventor of a new Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) system for use in the coronaries, discusses the potential benefits of this high-resolution imaging modality.... (read more)
Dr. Craig A. Thompson
Intravascular Imaging: Teaching and Learning
Dr. Craig Thompson relates how IVUS and FFR techniques are being used and taught in his cath lab at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.... (read more)
John McBarron Hodgson, MD
Why IVUS and FFR Are Necessities and How to Get Trained in Their Use
In this two-part interview, Dr. John McBarron Hodgson, developer of the online training programs TeachIVUS and TeachFFR, discusses his strong feelings about using intravascular technologies to make decisions and optimize outcomes.... (read more)
Antonio Columbo, MD
A Pioneer in Using IVUS to Optimize Stent Placement
Dr. Antonio Colombo is known worldwide as one of the leaders of interventional cardiology, and has been a leading force in the use of IVUS to assure that stents have been fully expanded and correctly placed. In this interview, he explains how he uses IVUS to improve outcomes and reduce the incidence of stent thrombosis.... (read more)
Michael C. Foster, MD
Do an IVUS in 3 Minutes!
Dr. Michael C. Foster, who practices in South Carolina, discusses how IVUS and FFR are integrated into his hospital's cath lab system and how that allows him to perform an IVUS in only 3 minutes.... (read more)
Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS)
Intravascular Ultrasound Image
Intravascular ltrasound (IVUS) is a unique imaging technology that uses sound waves to yield a cross-sectional view of blood vessels from the inside-out. IVUS can accurately show the location, magnitude and type of plaque that is building up inside the arteries.... (read more)
Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR)
FloWire® Doppler Guide Wire
A narrowing in an artery may be seen on an angiogram, but is that narrowing causing a problem? One way to determine this is by using a special catheter to measure Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) which actually quantifies the blood flow and may indicate that an intervention is not necessary..... (read more)
Coming Soon:
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT): An Overview
OCT
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is one of the newest intravascular imaging modalities. OCT uses a fine-tuned laser to produce extremely high resolution images that can actually show whether the struts of a stent have been covered or "healed". Like IVUS, there is no radiation involved.
Training and Education
Teach IVUS
TeachIVUS™ is a web-based simulation teaching tool designed for cardiovascular health professionals. The application allows users to make accurate measurements on a variety of IVUS images and then compare their measurements with a pre-stored expert measurement. TeachIVUS™ is sponsored by Volcano Corporation and Boston Scientific.
William O'Neill, MD, FACC
Quote of the Month
“We've known for almost 25 years that visual assessment of angiograms is reproducible and inaccurate. Every angiographer knows you can make a lesion anywhere from 20 to 70%, just by the frame that you pick when you look at an angiogram. The lesson that the interventional community needs to learn is that you have to be really careful about documenting why you are treating moderate severity lesions. And when in doubt, either use IVUS or FFR to make sure that you can prove to people that the lesion is severe enough to be treated.”
-- William O'Neill, MD, FACC
Professor & Executive Dean for Clinical Affairs
Miller School of Medicine
University of Miami - Division of CME