Training In Cardiovascular Imaging Research Articles

Roadmap on the use of artificial intelligence for imaging of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque in coronary arteries.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is likely to revolutionize the way medical images are analysed and has the potential to improve the identification andanalysis of vulnerable or high-risk atherosclerotic plaques in coronary arteries, leading to advances in the treatment of coronary artery disease. However, coronary plaque analysis is challenging owing to cardiac and respiratory motion, as well as the small size of cardiovascular structures. Moreover, the analysis of coronary imaging data is time-consuming, can be performed only by clinicians with dedicated cardiovascular imaging training, and is subject to considerable interreader and intrareader variability. AI has the potential to improve the assessment of images of vulnerable plaque in coronary arteries, but requires robust development, testing and validation. Combining human expertise with AI might facilitate the reliable and valid interpretation of images obtained using CT, MRI, PET, intravascular ultrasonography and optical coherence tomography. In this Roadmap, we review existing evidence on the application of AI to the imaging of vulnerable plaque in coronary arteries and provide consensus recommendations developed by an interdisciplinary group of experts on AI and non-invasive and invasive coronary imaging. We also outline future requirements of AI technology to address bias, uncertainty, explainability and generalizability, which are all essential for the acceptance of AI and its clinical utility in handling the anticipated growing volume of coronary imaging procedures.

3D Printers Provide a Window into the Heart.

Performing a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) on a patient with congenital heart disease can force an interventional cardiologist to navigate uncharted anatomic territory. When the patient’s anatomy is complex, procedures such as placing a new heart valve can take longer and are associated with a higher risk for various complications. However, some cardiologists are turning to a new tool to help them prepare for such complex procedures—three-dimensional (3D) printers, which can use computed tomography scans to generate a model of the patient’s precise anatomy to prepare for the surgery. “The 3D printing allows us to have a 3D model that can be held in hand and shown to the interventional cardiologists and surgeons doing the procedure,” said Ron Blankstein, MD, codirector of the Cardiovascular Imaging Training program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and Associate Professor of Medicine and Radiology at Harvard Medical School. “It is particularly useful in cases where the anatomy is not straightforward.” These 3D printers are becoming a fixture at many academic centers, where the printers and expert staff are often hired to help convert imaging into 3D models that can be used by surgeons and interventional cardiologists preparing for many types of surgeries and procedures. In addition to clinical applications, the technology is also being applied in basic research where scientists use it to print living cells into complex 3D structures called organoids, which re-create many features …

Interdisciplinary training in cardiovascular imaging

Although healthcare is now delivered across multidisciplinary teams, training continues to be delivered within the confines of each specialty. Victoria St Noble and colleagues describe a scheme that pairs radiologists with cardiologists to train in cardiovascular computed tomography.