How will virtual (computed) fractional flow reserve (vFFR) impact the management of coronary artery disease? (VIRTU-4)
Coronary artery disease is the build-up of fatty plaques in the vessels supplying blood to the heart. One way to measure the severity of coronary artery disease is to pass a tiny ‘pressure wire’ into the blood vessels of the heart to measure blood pressure changes. This test can tell doctors whether a person will benefit from treatment to open the blood vessels up. However, few people receive the test because the pressure wire is expensive and the procedure takes a long time. This project aims to develop a ‘virtual’ blood pressure test that can provide the information doctors need without requiring the pressure wire. Professor Gunn’s team has already developed a computer model that can calculate blood pressure measurements from pictures of the coronary blood vessels taken during an angiogram, which is a clinical scan of the heart. Now they will test it in a pilot study involving just over 400 people with coronary heart disease. Doctors at participating hospitals will decide what treatment their patient needs based on an angiogram. Then the computer model will re-analyse the angiograms and the doctor can decide whether to change the treatment plan. The study will provide essential information for a larger clinical trial in more patients. If successful, this computer model could provide the benefit of pressure measurements to thousands more patients, giving them a more accurate diagnosis and more personalised treatment.
Project details
| Grant amount | £370,679 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Translational |
| Application type | Translational Award |
| Start Date | 01 November 2019 |
| Duration | 2 years |
| Reference | TG/19/1/34451 |
| Status | In Progress |
