High-tech diagnosis systems help prevent strokes
Three domestically-developed assisted diagnosis systems for evaluating cerebro-cardiovascular disease risks have been approved by China's National Medical Products Administration recently, experts announced at the Oriental Congress of Cardiology in Shanghai on Friday.
The three systems, all based on computational hemodynamics and developed by ArteryFlow Technology, are the first and only such system being approved in the nation. Through big-data, blood flow stimulation and AI technology, the systems can precisely tell the risk of vascular diseases such as intracranial aneurysm, stroke and heart attack to support doctor's decision making through evidence-based practice, according to Xiang Jianping, the founder of ArteryFlow.
Dr Ge Junbo from Zhongshan Hospital and chairman of the congress, added: "With the development of medical technology and research, we are introducing the concept of pan-vascular medicine. This oversees the entire vascular network and conducts screening, prevention, diagnosis and treatment on all vascular diseases, especially cerebro-cardiovascular diseases. The system based on computational hemodynamics provides doctors with a useful tool."
Usually, risk evaluation of stroke and heart attacks is based on imaging and doctor's experiences, which can vary between leading hospitals in big cities and hospitals in rural areas.
Through the system, doctors can visualize how blood flows in the arteries, where arteries are under risk, such as thin walls and strong blood impact, and how serious the risks are. These are important for doctors to guide their treatment plan, which is conducted based on level of risks. Such tool can help improve the overall ability of doctors, especially in small hospitals and rural areas.
"For instance, the incidence of aneurysm is 7 to 8 percent," said Dr Liu Jianmin from Changhai Hospital. "But less than 1 percent will rupture, which can be fatal. How to detect these people and evaluate their risk of rupture is important. Such a computational hemodynamics-based tool is a useful assistance for doctors, which can decide the proper time for intervention."
Experts said the system is very meaningful for stroke prevention and control.
"There are 3.8 million people suffering strokes in China every year," Liu said. "Stroke is a top cause for death and disability. The national government has set up a stroke-related death and disability reduction project. Controlling hypertension, an immediate hospital visit after suffering from a stroke as well as early screening of stroke risk through computational hemodynamics are effective for stroke prevention and control and to help reduce the damages from a stroke."
Risk evaluation of an aneurysm.
Risk evaluation of an aneurysm.
Risk evaluation on myocardial infarction.
Risk evaluation on myocardial infarction.
