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Meeting
to Highlight Use of New Imaging Technologies for Guiding Stent
and Angioplasty Procedures
Intravascular Imaging (OCT, IVUS
and FFR) Course To Be
Held in Bergamo,
Italy, May 28-29
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Clockwise:
OCT, IVUS, FFR |
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May 25, 2009 --
This week marks one of the first courses to focus exclusively
on the range of innovative intravascular imaging and measurement
technologies that have been gaining in use over
the past couple of years. "OCT, IVUS, FFR: When, Where,
How"
will be held on May 28 and 29 in Bergamo, Italy.
The course will
utilize the newest innovations in Optical Coherence Tomography
(OCT), Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS), Virtual Histology (VH)
and Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) and how they can be used
to optimize
percutaneous
procedures, such as angioplasty and stenting. |
The Course Director is Dr.
Giulio Guagliumi of Ospedali Riuniti di Bergamo who was the
principal investigator for the ODESSA Trial, the first clinical
study of stent strut coverage as seen and measured via OCT.
Dr. Guagliumi has been one of the pioneering cardiologists
in OCT technology and he told Angioplasty.Org that
the time had come for a course solely on intravascular imaging
modalities.
He explained
that this interactive course will attempt to define if ,
when,
how and where to use IVUS, VH, OCT and FFR in daily interventional
practice, with particular emphasis on what the evolution in
current technology will allow cardiologists to do in the
near future.
Strategies in complex coronary lesions, atherosclerotic
plaque
assessment, detection and measurement of stent strut apposition
and coverage, thrombus identification and tissue type characterization
will all be addressed. The course will include live interactive
cases, flash
debates
followed by voting and carefully selected lectures from internationally
recognized experts, as well as multimedia links with the U.S. |
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Giulio
Guagliumi, MD |
With the use of FFR as a decision-making tool,
as demonstration by the FAME study, the use of stents was reduced
by a third, with
an
increase
in positive
outcomes for patients. The ability of IVUS to improve stent choice
and placement, as well as confirmation of complete stent expansion,
has been shown in a number of trials. Now OCT is being utilized to
see and measure a number of intravascular characteristics, including
whether or not the struts of a stent have been covered, or healed.
The interest in this field has been robust -- Dr.
Guagliumi told Angioplasty.Org that his course
was already over-subscribed more than a month ago. For more information
on OCT, look for Angioplasty.Org's upcoming interview with
Dr. Guagliumi.
Reported by Burt Cohen, May 25, 2009
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