St. Jude Medical, a global medical device company, recently launched its ILUMIEN PCI optimisation system as a treatment option for patients suffering from coronary artery disease (CAD) in India. Chennai based Madras Medical Mission hospital is the first centre to use the ILUMIEN System in India to create a treatment plan for patients with CAD. Using the ILUMIEN System, physicians gain advanced physiological and anatomical insights to improve the diagnosis and treatment of CAD.

The ILUMIEN system is the first and only integrated diagnostic technology that combines optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fractional flow reserve (FFR) technologies together in one platform helping physicians better identify and make treatment decisions for blood flow blockages in the heart.

FFR technology is used to determine the severity of blood flow blockages in coronary arteries, allowing physicians to better identify specific narrowing(s). Meanwhile, OCT technology is used to visualise and measure important vessel characteristics that are used in guiding stent selection and deployment. The technology also provides post-stenting information to help ensure the procedure was successful.

“The key to treating coronary artery disease is by knowing which blockage or blockages need treatment, and understanding how to best treat them. The ILUMIEN system provides me with this critical information about the severity and location of blood flow blocks in one place to create a personalised treatment plan for each patient,” shared Dr Mullasari Ajit Sankardas, director of cardiology at Madras Medical Mission.

The ILUMIEN System allows for a customised plan unique to each patient, using the most beneficial treatment options that can range from medication, stenting or surgery, or a combination of therapies. With the integration of FFR and OCT technologies, physicians can identify the precise measurement and dimensions of culprit artery narrowings responsible for obstructing blood flow to a patient's heart, as well as determine vessel size and structure.

Ongoing research in landmark clinical trials has demonstrated the benefits of FFR. The original FAME trial demonstrated a 34 percent reduction in death and heart attack after two years when treatment was guided by the St. Jude Medical FFR measurement PressureWire. Further, recently published results from the FAME II trial in the New England Journal of Medicine show that patients with stable CAD who received FFR-guided treatment plus the best available medication experienced superior outcomes to patients treated with medicine alone. These trials collectively demonstrate the important role FFR plays in improving patient care.

According to Kaustav Banerjee, country manager for St. Jude Medical India, “St. Jude Medical is dedicated to providing Indian physicians with advanced technologies that help them efficiently and effectively diagnose and treat patients. The ILUMIEN system combines two powerful tools to help physicians decide on the best treatment strategy for patients with coronary artery disease.”