The Future of Health is Here, Now
- || Tags: Arterial Plaque, Cardiac Care, CLEERLY, MRI, Prevention
A European study outlining the benefits of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in helping identify suspected coronary artery disease ahead of a medical emergency, like a stroke or heart attack, predicted the increased use of these type of non-invasive techniques more than 10 years ago.
Since that peer-reviewed article was first published (read the full study on the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine website), advances in technology and the reduction of costs have both contributed to a significant tool in helping prevent cardiac injury. In 2010, most diagnostic tools to detect cardiac potential events involved contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) coronary angiography; work-ups were also dependent on patients with suspected coronary artery disease.
Yet, many clinicians treating patients with suspected coronary artery disease still rely on older methods like stress electrocardiography (ECG) and stress echocardiography, which are aimed at the detection of abnormalities under stress conditions.
Today, advances in computer-aided artificial intelligence, along with increased functionality of MRI machines and programming, patients who may not either present with symptoms of cardiac disease or even have a family history, can take advantage of technology well in advance of a potential catastrophic medical event.
Ascend Imaging Center’s partnership with CLEERLY, the Colorado-based technology firm that pioneered a new way of imaging the heart and surrounding circulatory system to non-invasively detect cardiac disease is at the forefront of medical advancement.
This is not hyped Silicon Valley smoke and mirrors; Cleerly’s technology is based on more than a decade of foundational research conducted in partnership with leading medical institutions, including New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medicine, and the NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (an academic-industrial collaboration between General Electric Research and Rensselaer Polytechnic University), according to its founder and CEO, Dr. James K. Min.
Dr. James K. Min, founder and CEO of Cleerly, has partnered with Ascend Imaging Center offering its diagnostic test for arterial plaque that can lead to medical emergencies.
Min explained that the research proving efficacy included large-scale clinical trials with more than 50,000 patients, which comprised the “[m]ost extensive body of coronary imaging research to study how imaging can be used to better understand heart disease and project patient outcomes.
“Through the application of artificial intelligence that is constantly being refined with our … clinical data, Cleerly is finally bringing heart disease diagnosis and prevention into the 21st century,” Min added.
The results have been nothing short of amazing when compared to older, non-invasive diagnostic techniques, according to Dr. Justin Klein, a physician and venture capitalist who has helped with rounds of funding in support of the company’s mission. “We see Cleerly as the future of how coronary artery disease will be evaluated, and we support the company’s mission to tailor a personalized approach to diagnosis, management, and treatment, and to validate all of this with world-class clinical evidence of utility and cost-effectiveness.”
Ascend Imaging Center’s partnership with Cleerly makes this technology available here, in Southeast Michigan, and in concert with your primary care physician or cardiologist, the results can be a game-changer.
For more information on Cleerly and other diagnostic tools, contact Ascend Imaging at (248) 595-8404.
