The Problem

Cardiovascular disease is the world’s biggest healthcare issue and the problem is rapidly growing. Atherosclerotic plaque is the build up of fat in the arteries causing a narrowing of the blood vessels and this is central to many forms of the disease.

Current clinical management of heart and artery disease relies heavily on medical imaging to help see the disease and determine its extent, and in coronary artery disease (CAD), non-invasive coronary CT angiography (CCTA) scans are now the front-line imaging test for patients with suspected CAD.

As a result, the number of CT scans performed is expected to dramatically increase¹ placing a strain on already overloaded and under-resourced clinics that are in parallel facing a shortage in workforce.²

Despite improved imaging and the use of AI to assess the scans, about 66% of patients who have a heart attack showed no signs of obstructive plaque on their CCTA scan.³ Also, a large proportion of CAD patients have invasive medical imaging which shows that their arteries are free from disease – this is both unnecessary and expensive.

With the majority of heart attacks occurring in people who have no visible CAD blocking the artery, the current methods used to read the CT scans are not appropriate, and the warning signs of a heart attack are being missed.

Then, when someone has a heart attack and is treated, another 1 in 3 will have repeat heart attack within 2 years.⁴

Current methods cannot see and treat the entire problem, but instead focus on the late-stage visible markers of disease.

There is a rapidly growing clinical need for highly-automated and efficient risk assessment methods to make better decisions and improve patient outcomes.

Navier Medical is addressing this urgent need.