Press Release
HeartFlow Receives 2011 EuroPCR Innovation Award
Annual Award Honors Technology With Greatest Potential to Change Practice of Interventional Medicine
PARIS, May 20, 2011 – HeartFlow, Inc. announced today that the company has been honored with the 2011 EuroPCR Innovation Award for the company’s computed fractional flow reserve (FFRCT) technology, which is designed to provide data about blood flow within the arteries of the heart to help physicians guide diagnostic decisions about coronary artery disease.
The award was presented during the closing ceremony of the 2011 EuroPCR conference in Paris by Stephan Windecker, M.D., head of interventional cardiology at the Swiss Cardiovascular Center in Bern, Switzerland.
The award highlights one technology each year that shows the greatest potential to change the practice of interventional medicine. Previous winners include renal denervation for the treatment of hypertension, transcatheter aortic valve technology, and bioabsorbable stent systems.
“We are very honored and pleased to be the recipient of the 2011 EuroPCR Innovation Award,” said John H. Stevens, M.D., chairman and CEO of HeartFlow. “It is gratifying that EuroPCR recognizes the enormous potential of FFRCT.”
HeartFlow was co-founded by Stanford University professors, Charles A. Taylor, Ph.D. and Christopher K. Zarins, M.D. The technology is based on 15 years of their scientific research, leveraging the power of high-performance computing and state-of-the-art computed tomography (CT) technology to provide a non-invasive method to determine FFRCT. HeartFlow will make FFRCT available to physicians through a web-based service.
Recognized by the European Society of Cardiology as the gold standard for guiding treatment for coronary artery disease,1,2 FFR assesses the impact of specific coronary lesions on the flow of blood in the coronary arteries. Measurements of fractional flow reserve (FFR) allow physicians to identify which lesions are causing ischemia, providing valuable information that helps determine if a patient requires an interventional procedure.
About HeartFlow’s FFRCT Technology
HeartFlow’s technology is a web-based service that enables the determination of non-invasive fractional flow reserve (FFRCT). Utilizing the latest breakthroughs in medical imaging and computational science, the company’s technology calculates FFR from patient-specific 3-D computational models of the aorta, heart, and coronary artery tree that are obtained from CT scan data. Blood flow equations are then solved using a supercomputer to compute FFRCT.
About HeartFlow, Inc.
HeartFlow, Inc., based in Redwood City, Calif., is pioneering technology designed to help physicians noninvasively diagnose coronary artery disease, improve patient outcomes and reduce health care costs. For more information visit www.heartflow.com.
- Wijns W, Kolh P, Danchin N, et al. Guidelines on myocardial revascularization: The Task Force on Myocardial Revascularization of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS). European Heart Journal. 2010:2501-2555.
- Kushner FG, Hand M, Smith SC, et al. 2009 focused updates: ACC/AHA guidelines for the management of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (updating the 2004 guideline and 2007 focused update) andACC/AHA/SCAI guidelines on percutaneous coronary intervention. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2009;54(23):2205-41. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19942100.
