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Dive Brief:
Philips said Monday it has collaborated with Edwards Lifesciences to develop a tool that uses artificial intelligence to help physicians visualize and navigate mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair, or TEER, procedures.
Called DeviceGuide, the technology tracks the repair device in real time as it moves through the heart. Philips said the system marks a shift in the use of AI from diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring into support for clinical decision-making during live procedures.
DeviceGuide is available in some European markets through a limited release and has been submitted to the Food and Drug Administration for review, a Philips spokesperson said in an email.
Dive Insight:
Edwards’ Pascal and Abbott’s MitraClip TEER devices are cleared in the U.S. to repair the mitral valve in patients with mitral regurgitation. The condition occurs when the valve does not shut properly, allowing blood to flow back into the heart.
Physicians typically view X-ray and ultrasound images on several screens to guide them in a TEER procedure and must imagine where the treatment device is in the anatomy as they work, according to Philips.
Philips’ DeviceGuide uses AI to combine the two-dimensional imaging data, superimposing images of the repair device on live images of the beating heart to create one 3D visual reference that everyone in the room sees. Ultrasound is used for soft tissues including the valve, and X-ray is used to see instruments and the implant. The AI tracks the catheter as it moves through the heart’s chambers, showing its position and direction.
“That gives doctors a clear sense of depth and orientation that simply wasn’t possible before,” Atul Gupta, Philips chief medical officer for diagnosis and treatment, said in a statement.
The technology could enable easier device navigation, save time and shorten the learning curve for doctors in one of the most complex heart procedures, Philips said.
Philips unveiled its collaboration with Edwards days after another imaging heavyweight, Siemens Healthineers, announced it would partner with Boston Scientific to develop and commercialize Siemens Healthineers’ next-generation intracardiac echocardiography catheter for use in structural heart procedures.
GE HealthCare and Volta Medical also have a development agreement, first announced last year, to integrate Volta’s AI technology with GE HealthCare’s electrophysiology recording system for navigating ablation procedures to treat atrial fibrillation.
