Project description
A safer blood vessel imaging tool
Diagnosis and monitoring of cardiovascular diseases entail the X-ray imaging of blood vessels through a method known as angiography. However, angiography can have detrimental side effects on both patients and staff performing the procedure, such as radiation-induced cancer. Additionally, patients also face the risk of potential kidney injury. The EU-funded KMIT-ACC project has developed a novel angiography imaging technology that limits the dose of X-ray and iodinated contrast media while offering enhanced image quality. Implementation of the KMIT-ACC dose management and image-processing tool in the clinic is expected to reduce the negative impact of conventional angiography with important socioeconomic benefits.
Objective
Cardiovascular disorders are the number one health problem in the high-income societies. X-ray imaging of blood vessels is widely used in diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular conditions, but it has several drawbacks: Image quality is sometimes insufficient; Applied Iodinated Contrast Media (ICM) may induce kidney injuries; X-ray exposure of patient and staff may cause cancer. Image quality improvement and radical reduction of ICM/X-ray dose are an unmet need. Our team has developed Digital Variance Angiography imaging and implemented it in a software, the Kinepict Medical Imaging Tool (KMIT). This ground-breaking patented technology can change the currently used angiography methods, improving image quality (3-10 times higher signal-to-noise ratio) and providing a dose management solution to reduce X-ray and ICM dose at least by 75% and 50%, respectively. Using the KMIT offers several advantages: a)Risk of angiography procedures is reduced dramatically for both patient and staff. b)The society benefits from smaller morbidity and mortality of cancer and kidney injury c)Hospitals save 220,000 €/year on direct costs d)Health care system expenses are reduced by around 300,000 €/year/licencing hospital e)Total savings might reach the 300 M€/year in the EU (assuming a 10 % market penetration. Our customers are healthcare institutions doing vascular interventions; the users of our product are vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists. Our total addressable market size in Europe and USA is around €300 M. Our goal is to revolutionize X-ray angiography by introducing a dose management and image processing tool. The current proposal is organized around the following objectives: a) clinical validation of our technology for new indications, b) organization of a reference laboratory network, c) software and hardware optimization to reach TRL 9 level and d) baseline commercial activities.
Fields of science
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencessoftware
- natural sciencesbiological sciencescell biologycell metabolism
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinecardiologycardiovascular diseases
- engineering and technologymedical engineeringdiagnostic imaging
- social scienceseconomics and businessbusiness and managementcommerce
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2Coordinator
2092 Budakeszi
Hungary
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.