FFR Impact Scoring for Connected Vascular Lesion Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for determining vascular health, such as fractional flow reserve (FFR), often rely on multiple parameters that can introduce variability and noise in decision-making, particularly in treatments like PCI and CABG, and do not effectively account for the overall impact of vascular disease on blood flow.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize a continuous or near-continuous map of FFR values to calculate an FFR impact score, summarizing the overall impact of vascular disease by combining focal and global measures of FFR, providing a single, automated metric for treatment planning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple parameters are used to determine vascular health, then comprehensive assessment is achieved, but variability and noise in decision-making increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple FFR measurements across different vascular segments into a single integrated FFR impact score. This merging approach maintains comprehensive assessment while reducing variability by consolidating multiple parameters into one unified metric that captures overall vascular disease impact.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms multiple individual FFR parameters into a new composite parameter (FFR impact score) that reflects the overall functional impact of vascular disease. This parameter transformation reduces noise while preserving clinically relevant information about vascular health.
2Loss of information
If detailed FFR mapping is performed, then comprehensive vascular assessment is obtained, but complexity of analysis increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential functional impact information from detailed FFR maps by calculating an integrated FFR impact score. This extraction process removes unnecessary complexity while retaining the most clinically relevant information about overall vascular disease impact on blood flow.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple FFR values from different vascular segments into a single FFR impact score, simplifying the analysis while preserving comprehensive vascular assessment information.
3Measurement precision
If manual assessment of vascular health is performed, then detailed evaluation is possible, but variability in treatment decisions increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements an automated calculation system that computes the FFR impact score directly from FFR map data without requiring manual interpretation. This automation eliminates human variability while maintaining detailed evaluation precision, improving decision consistency across different cases and operators.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2A
Figure 2B
AI summary
Methods and apparatus for determining a functional impact of vascular lesions are disclosed. An example method includes calculating estimates of a single functional blood flow metric (for example, fractional flow reserve calculated from angiographic images) for multiple locations in each of a plurality of connected vascular branches. The method includes converting these estimates into FFR impact scores, which are indicative of the overall impact of occlusive vascular disease on the connected vascular branches.