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Biotech / Medical : IMAT - ultrafast tomography for coronary artery disease -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: art slott who wrote (2698)	9/6/1998 11:45:00 PM
From: Steven Durrington	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 3725

Calcium scores are indicative of present CAD, but may not actually quantitate the degree of stenosis - just indicate that CAD is present and that more investigations and/or changes in lifestyle and/or therapy is indicated. In "conventional" helical CT scanning, a common technique used is called "CT Angiography". CT scans are images made up of the absorption or transmission of x-rays through the body, and the density of the tissues encountered ranges from -1000 (air) through 0 (water) through +1000 (dense bone, calcium and contrast media). In CT Angiography, all pixels beyond a certain threshold value are recorded and all below the threshold are "erased", leaving just the dense pixels. The images are reconstructed in 3-D and the result is an image of the dense voxels in 3-D. Contrast is dense, and so we can get images of the structure of arteries and veins without the risks and costs of angiography. The quality of images is below that of angiography, but is improving all the time. Perhaps IMAT might produce software that can image coronary (and other) arteries with a simple IV injection of contrast. Plaques would show as filling defects in the contrast, and analytical software could calculate the % stenosis. Early detection and remedy can slow down or even reverse the progress of CAD. IMAT's machine have potential to reduce the need for surgical interventions and invasive procedures. We won't erase the need for these things, but could lower them significantly. As an angiographer myself, I have some solace in the fact that although diagnostic angiography is dying, there is an increasing need for interventional vascular procedures (angioplasties, stenting, embolizations, etc.) and I will always be in demand. But, I can recognize and appreciate IMAT's contribution to diagnosis and timely prevention. Regards, Durro