GE Healthcare, Waukesha, Wis., and HeartFlow Inc., Redwood City, Calif., have entered into a global collaboration agreement with the goal of increasing the clinical availability and adoption of HeartFlow FFRct, a proprietary technology that helps clinicians diagnose and treat patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD).
The collaboration will involve computed tomography (CT) scanners from GE Healthcare with HeartFlow FFRct, a noninvasive technology that provides insight into both the extent of CAD and the impact of the disease on blood flow to the heart. HeartFlow FFRct is designed to enable clinicians to select a definitive, personalized treatment plan for each patient and reduce the need for additional invasive testing. The agreement will initially focus on the United States, with plans to expand into other markets in the future.
“GE has collaborated with HeartFlow over the last 5 years, and this agreement reinforces our joint commitment to patients worldwide,” says Scott Schubert, general manager of global premium CT at GE Healthcare. “Along with our industry-leading cardiac CT systems and clinical applications, GE can now offer HeartFlow FFRct as an option for healthcare providers who strive to deliver the highest standards in clinical care while reducing costs.”
“This agreement with GE will help bring our game-changing non-invasive technology into the mainstream of cardiac care at thousands of hospitals that are already using state-of-the-art CT systems from GE, which provide exceptional image quality,” says John H. Stevens, M.D., president and chief executive officer of HeartFlow. “By collaborating, we can ensure that HeartFlow FFRct can be easily integrated into existing CAD protocols and more readily transform the care of patients with suspected and potentially life-threatening CAD.”
With HeartFlow FFRct, data from a patient’s non-invasive coronary CT angiogram are securely uploaded from the hospital’s system to the cloud. Then, HeartFlow leverages deep learning to create a personalized, digital 3D model of the patient’s coronary arteries and uses powerful computer algorithms to solve millions of complex equations to simulate blood flow in the model and assess the impact of blockages on coronary blood flow. The results are provided to the patient’s clinician via a secure web interface to offer actionable information on the optimal course of treatment.
GE brings to the collaboration its portfolio of cardiac CT solutions, including:
• The Revolution family of CT scanners, with innovations including One-Beat Cardiac, SnapShot Freeze intelligent motion correction, and high definition imaging;
• CardioGraphe, the world’s first dedicated cardiovascular CT system, a whole-heart coverage CT system;
• AW advanced clinical applications including CardIQ, VesselIQ and TAVI planning to enhance physician diagnostic accuracy and productivity.
