NHS England has today announced plans to roll-out technology to support 100,000 patients over the next three years with suspected heart disease.
The technology, believed to be ‘five times faster’, turns a regular CT scan of the heart into a 3D image in twenty minutes.
The roll-out of the technology started last month, as part of the MedTech Funding Mandate policy, which supports the implementation of medical devices, diagnostics and digital products.
Dr Derek Connolly, consultant interventional cardiologist at Sandwell & West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “For every five patients who have a cardiac CT and a HeartFlow Analysis, four patients go home knowing they don’t need anything else. Half of those patients will be on cholesterol tablets because they have early disease, and the other half will have normal coronary arteries.
“Incorporating the HeartFlow Analysis has had a meaningful impact at our hospitals, improving the diagnosis and treatment of the leading cause of death.”
Stephen Powis, medical director, NHS, added: “By rapidly improving the rate we diagnose and treat those with a heart condition we will save thousands of lives and ensure as well as delivering the most successful vaccination programme in health service history, the NHS is able to deliver routine services even quicker than before the pandemic.”
Matt Whitty, director of innovation and life sciences for NHS England, added: “HeartFlow has been a huge success in clinical trials and will now help tens of thousands of people a year receive quick diagnosis and treatment and ultimately save lives.”
