Summary: GE HealthCare and Medis Medical Imaging have partnered to advance the precision diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD) with the Medis Quantitative Flow Ratio (QFR). This non-invasive diagnostic approach aims to improve clinical outcomes and streamline cardiology practices.
Key Takeaways:
- Collaborative Effort: GE HealthCare and Medis Medical Imaging collaborate to develop and commercialize Medis QFR.
- Non-Invasive Diagnosis: Medis QFR offers a non-invasive method to assess coronary artery physiology, reducing the need for invasive procedures.
GE HealthCare and Medis Medical Imaging, a leading cardiac imaging software company, announced their collaboration aimed at helping advance precision care in the diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD).
Development of Medis QFR
Together, the two companies will work to further the development and commercialization of Medis Quantitative Flow Ratio (Medis QFR), a non-invasive approach to the assessment of coronary physiology, as part of GE HealthCare’s interventional cardiology portfolio built around the Allia Platform. The collaboration seeks to provide access to emerging technologies, like Medis QFR, while also reducing complexity in the cath lab to improve the operating environment for clinicians.
Understanding Coronary Artery Disease
Within the complex umbrella of cardiovascular disease, CAD is a type of heart disease that develops when the coronary arteries narrow and the heart cannot deliver enough oxygen-rich blood to the heart. In order to accurately diagnose suspected CAD, a significant percentage of patients can undergo invasive coronary angiography to help clinicians determine the severity of their disease. Traditionally, a clinician will then visually interpret an angiogram to determine whether a patient requires treatment, such as a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), as well as determine where, or which lesion, to treat to restore blood flow.
Advancing Precision Care
As part of GE HealthCare’s commitment to advancing precision care in interventional cardiology, the company’s collaboration with Medis Medical Imaging will bring Medis QFR to clinicians as an emerging, non-invasive, image-based diagnostic approach to the assessment of coronary artery physiology and the treatment of CAD.
The benefits of QFR guidance are supported in a recent study that showed that a QFR-guided strategy of lesion selection for PCI improved two-year clinical outcomes, including reduction in myocardial infarction and ischemia-driven revascularization, when compared with standard angiography guidance alone.
Enhancing Clinical Tools
“We continue to see an evolution in how clinicians work to treat cardiovascular disease and want to give clinicians the tools, along with the flexibility and adaptability, they need to enable better outcomes for their patients,” says Arnaud Marie – general manager for global intervention at GE HealthCare. “In the assessment of coronary artery disease, QFR represents a significant advancement in how efficiently it can provide critical insights. We’re excited to collaborate with Medis Medical Imaging to add innovative, non-invasive, image-based QFR to our portfolio of offerings around our Allia IGS platform to streamline the experience for clinicians and help us to deliver on our vision for the future image-guided therapy.”
