Cardiac Perfusion with Computed Tomography (CT): $1,580,000 for a project to create a novel cardiac imaging product which will enable emergency room physicians to make more definitive diagnoses and immediate treatment decisions for heart attack patients. The research team will explore the use of cardiac perfusion technology to provide a detailed assessment of areas of the heart which are not getting enough blood or to find out how much heart muscle has been damaged, building upon state-of-the-art CT technology created by Philips Healthcare Cleveland. These systems will capture snapshot 3D views of the beating heart with incredible detail to determine local blood flow. By combining the traditional capabilities to assess coronary anatomy with the new ability to assess physiological blood flow will provide a "one stop shop" for cardiac imaging which is not available with any existing single imaging modality. This will enable informed diagnostic decisions in a cost effective, fast way. A successful product should significantly help grow the market for Philips CT scanners made in Ohio and shipped all over the world.
The project is led by David Wilson, PhD, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Radiology at Case Western Reserve University. The research team includes Hiram Grando Bezerra, MD, Professor, and Robert (Chip) Gilkeson, MD, Director of Cardiothoracic Imaging and Professor, UH Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University Department of Radiology, and Scott Pohlman of Philips.
The Third Frontier grants require matching funds. The partners are investing a total of $1 million in each project.
As part of the Philips Healthcare Global Advanced Imaging Innovation Center, the latest Philips imaging equipment is developed in Cleveland and validated for clinical efficacy and product release. The Department of Radiology at UH Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve School of Engineering, have some of the nation's leaders in medical imaging who partner with Philips. The company's global Computed Tomography and Nuclear Medicine headquarters is also in Cleveland.
"We are very excited about this important collaboration with University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University," said Jay Mazelsky, senior vice president and general manager for Computed Tomography and Nuclear Medicine at Philips Healthcare. "Our company aspires to assist clinicians by providing breakthrough imaging technologies that today are not yet possible. This Advanced Imaging Innovation Center will help us realize these objectives and in the process, help improve the healthcare of patients in Ohio and throughout the world."
Source: University Hospitals Case Medical Center