i2 summit 2006 discusses technologies to diagnose coronary ailments in a heartbeat

Filed in archive Diagnostics , Miscellany , News on March 15, 2006

One of the hot topics at the American College of Cardiology's inaugural Innovation in Intervention: the i2 Summit 2006 is on the emerging technologies to diagnose heart disease and a more systematic way to predict the long-term success of cardiac procedures.

The i2 summit is an annual meeting for practicing cardiovascular interventionalists sponsored by the American College of Cardiology in partnership with the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions.

Since the number of Americans diagnose each year with heart conditions is growing at a very alarming rate it is very important that new heart-specific diagnostic technologies are developed which are easier and more effective than previous standards.

Some of those technologies have been highlighted in the summit:

•One-Beat Whole Heart Imaging Using the 2nd Spec 256-Multislice CT: First Clinical Data (Abstract 2914-117)

The 2nd Spec 256-Multislice CT scanner (computed tomography) represents the next generation of CT scanners to assess coronary artery health and cardiac anatomy and function. The diagnostic tool is designed to non-invasively determine whether significant coronary artery disease is present, completing the whole heart scan in 1.5 seconds without gating and table movement, using the wider coverage of the CT scanner. For comparison, the commonly used 64-slice CT scanner takes approximately 10 seconds to complete a diagnostic scan of the heart.

•Comorbidity and Outcome After Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (Abstract 2903-83)

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is a procedure performed in the cardiac catheterization laboratory to help physicians diagnose heart disease and open arteries in the heart to restore blood flow. When predicting patient survival following PCI, clinicians typically do not evaluate how the presence of other diseases or systemic risk factors, such as kidney disease or simply age, might impact the outcome.

•Delayed Facilitated Percutaneous Intervention Versus Immediate in Reperfused Stemi (Abstract 2804-4)

Quick action is critical when treating patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction, or heart attack. This study examined outcomes of patients who experienced a successful return of blood flow to the heart following a heart attack, were initially treated with drug therapy, and subsequently underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI, a procedure performed in the cardiac catheterization laboratory to access the heart and major blood vessels to diagnose heart disease and open arteries in the heart to restore blood flow).

For more info and highlights on the i2 summit, click here.

Source: [EurekAlert]