The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared AngioViz (GE Healthcare), an application that gives doctors a new visualisation of vascular flow on a single image to help them make important decisions during complex interventional radiology procedures. AngioViz yields its information from digital subtraction angiography (DSA), a technique commonly used to show the vascular anatomy.
AngioViz provides a new visualisation of the vascular flow seen in DSA imaging utilising a technique called parametric imaging. AngioViz looks at each pixel in the image series and determines two things—the peak value of opacification caused by the contrast, and the time it takes for that pixel to reach peak opacification. These two parameters can be displayed as separate images or combined into a single color-coded image that represents parameters of vascular flow. This enables doctors to perceive parameters of flow quickly to support decision-making. In addition, AngioViz allows easy comparison of parametric images from different DSA acquisitions, such as pre- and post-treatment images. This can help physicians understand the impact on flow dynamics of various interventional treatments.
AngioViz bold flow visualisation has the potential to be applied to a variety of clinical situations:
- Help see where a blocked artery diminishes blood flow in the brain or other tissue
- Identify the timing and amount of blood flow in abnormal vessel anatomy
- Observe flow in abnormal tissue before and after treatment to support interventional oncology treatment
- Visualise peripheral artery blood flow before and after balloon angioplasty and stenting
“We are proud to offer our customers new information they will find valuable when planning and assessing complex interventional procedures. AngioViz takes the DSA technique to a new level,” said Chantal Le Chat, General Manager of Interventional Radiology, GE Healthcare.
