Reading workstation for clinical contrast echocardiography

PROJECT SUMMARY Coronary microvascular dysfunction (MVD) is increasingly being appreciated as a part of the pathophysiology of a number of conditions including MINOCA (myocardial infarction with nonobstructive coronary arteries), heart transplant graft vasculopathy, and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Coronary MVD occurs more commonly in women and can result in chest pain due to myocardial ischemia despite the presence of normal or near normal coronary angiograms. Identifying MVD in patients remains challenging and results in delayed or missed diagnoses even though cardiovascular event rates in these conditions are similar to those with established coronary artery disease. Clinical tools are therefore needed to both rapidly and accurately detect these conditions. Echocardiographic imaging of the myocardial microcirculation using ultrasound contrast agents, referred to as myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE), has decades of data demonstrating the diagnostic and prognostic benefit of MCE in evaluating patients with MVD. In many ways, MCE is the preferred method for perfusion assessment because it is more convenient, less expensive, and more available than comparative techniques of nuclear imaging (SPECT), positron emission tomography (PET), and cardiac MRI. However, the clinical use of MCE has been limited to only a handful of experts in the field due in large part to the perceived experience dependence of MCE interpretation. Currently, no widely available clinical tools exist to support MCE quantitative analysis and interpretation. A clinical gap exists between a proven echocardiographic technique and the technology necessary to apply MCE in an efficient, user friendly and standardized method. Narnar LLC is developing a user-friendly contrast echocardiography quantification and visualization software. This product is designed to overcome the existing critical limitations of MCE by enabling rapid interpretation. This new clinical tool will evaluate the myocardial flow-function relationship that is critical to identifying patients with MVD by using echocardiography. The overall aim of this phase II proposal is to productionize the prototype software into a comprehensive software solution that when integrated into the current workflows using already available technologies (ultrasound, FDA approved enhancing agents) will enable a cardiologist to confidently assess both function and perfusion by contrast echocardiography.