SOFTWARE TO PREDICT CLINICAL BENEFIT OF PACEMAKER PLACEMENT THROUGH VENTRICULAR SYNCHRONY ASSESSMENT

Brief Description

Patients suffering from moderate to severe cardiac failure can enjoy substantial improvements in quality of life and survival, when provided with cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). However, this treatment has a 30% failure rate due in part to difficulties in characterizing intraventricular synchrony. Improvements in methodology could lead to appropriate patient selection and improved pacemaker positioning, resulting in enhanced therapeutic effectiveness.

To redress these problems, UCSF researchers have developed software that permits the visualization and quantification of relevant parameters using a number of different imaging tools. Their novel method employs first harmonic imaging to the blood pool study, yielding a quantitative basis for treatment and evaluation.

Features/Benefits

• Superior evaluation of ventricular synchrony.
• Quantification of relevant factors.
• Novel analytic displays.

Other Information

• Scintigraphic blood pool and phase image analysis: The optimal tool for the evaluation of resynchronization therapy. Elias H. Botvinick, MD. J Nucl Card. 10(4): 424-8. 2003.