HeartFlow, Inc., a personalized medical technology company, has announced the approval of its HeartFlow FFRct Analysis by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW). The HeartFlow FFRct Analysis is the only non-invasive technology to deliver insights on both the extent of a coronary blockage and any impact the blockage has on blood flow to the heart, aiding clinicians in selecting an appropriate treatment.
Also commercially available in the United States, Europe and Canada, the innovative technology has been proven to reduce the need for invasive and costly procedures to diagnose patients suspected of having coronary artery disease. It has the potential to positively impact a significant patient population in Japan, where heart disease is the second leading cause of death and coronary artery disease accounts for approximately half of these deaths.
“The MHLW’s approval of the HeartFlow FFRct Analysis is another important milestone for HeartFlow and will give physicians in Japan a new tool to determine the optimal treatment for patients with cardiovascular disease,” said John H. Stevens, M.D., chairman and CEO of HeartFlow. “With our commercial release in Japan, we expand our ability to help more clinicians diagnose cardiovascular disease non-invasively while reducing unnecessary invasive catheterizations and saving costs.”
The HeartFlow FFRct Analysis is a web-based platform that aids clinicians in diagnosing coronary artery disease, and provides personalized, actionable information to physicians to manage each patient. The technology solves millions of complex equations simulating blood flow in the coronary arteries to provide mathematically computed fractional flow reserve (FFRct) values. The result is a personalized color-coded model of the patient’s coronary arteries that aids physicians in determining, vessel-by-vessel, if sufficient blood is reaching the heart.
“We are very pleased that the MHLW has approved the novel HeartFlow FFRct Analysis,” said Takashi Akasaka, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Wakayama Medical University. “Having used the technology as part of clinical studies at our facility, we believe it has the potential to profoundly impact the way we care for cardiovascular patients in Japan.”