OCG19
The only solution to analyze breathing-enhanced Oxygen-Sensitive CMR
AI-Powered Coronary Vascular Function Testing
Unlocking the Unprecedented Biomarkers From Oxygenation-Sensitive Cardiac Magnetic Resonance with Area19’s OCG19
Fast
3 minute aquisition time
Effortless
Stress Free Testing of Coronary Vascular Function
Available
Adapted Standard CMR Sequence (SSFP)
No Radiation
No Needles
No Stress
High-Resolution AI-Informed Analysis
High Spatial Resolution
High Temporal Resolution
Simultaneous assesment of ventricular function
Signature Biomarkers (Oxygenation + Strain)
Offering simultaneous assessment of ventricular function.
No Contrast Agent
Oxygenation-Sensitive Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (OS-CMR) can be used to track tissue oxygenation in quasi-real-time.
No Pharmacological or Physical Stress
In the heart and the brain, hyperventilation decreases blood flow, while breath-holding increases it. The associated changes in tissue oxygenation can be tracked by OS-CMR and OCG19.
Breath Hold
Personalized Risk Stratification
The response of the vascular system to the breathing maneuver can be tracked across the cardiac cycle (OxyCardioGram – OCG) and throughout vasoactive breathing maneuvers. The analysis yields an individual response profile and multiple biomarkers for coronary macro- and microvascular function.
Hillier E. & Friedrich MG. JoVE, 2022.
Breathing-Enhanced OS-CMR as a Screening Tool
Vascular dysfunction is the earliest sign of atherosclerosis (3) and has been a target for various diagnostic imaging approaches (4). A reduced responsiveness to a vasoactive breathing maneuver directly reflects vascular dysfunction, including endothelial dysfunction, a key feature of early atherosclerosis and strong predictor of clinical events (5).
Integration of Breathing-Enhanced OS-CMR in Clinical Routine
CMR is the most versatile advanced cardiac imaging modality, with quantitative information on cardiac morphology, function, and tissue pathology. Additional coronary vascular function testing further augments the value and sets the stage for a short, ultra-efficient diagnostic procedure.
OS-CMR + OCG19
Safe. Convenient. Just Better.
OS-CMR images are analyzed using the proprietary Area19 technology. Several biomarkers are extracted from thousands of data points. The resulting markers can provide a clear picture of the vascular status of the heart.
Meet Our Team
Dr. Elizabeth Hillier
Clinical Research Scientist
Dr. Philipp Barckow
Director of Product Development
Glisant Plasa
Clinical Solutions DeveloperReferences
Provides an overview of functional MRI (fMRI), a non-invasive imaging technique that detects changes in blood oxygen levels associated with neural activity in the brain. The paper explains the physical basis of fMRI and how it is performed in practice, as well as some of its limitations and applications. fMRI is safe and repeatable, making it a valuable tool for both basic and clinical neuroscience. The technique has widespread potential uses, including mapping critical functions in the brain for neurosurgical planning and studying neurodevelopmental disorders in children. Despite its limitations, fMRI provides an accurate and painless method for mapping brain function and has a large role to play in the management of clinical patients with diverse disorders.
A study by van den Boomen et al. reported on the use of a T2*-sensitive cardiac MRI sequence to track changes in myocardial T2 and T2* during a breath hold. The study found that T2 and T2* increased in healthy control participants during the breath hold, while there was a net decrease in participants with arterial hypertension. The study suggests that short acquisition times for T2 and T2* maps may help shorten imaging times for participants suspected of having myocardial disease or injury. Additionally, T2 and T2* showed reproducible changes during a breath hold, confirming previous reports. The study also found that T2 and T2* changed predictably during a voluntary breath hold, indicating potential for oxygenation-sensitive cardiac MRI to be used as a diagnostic tool. Despite limitations, the study confirms the potential for cardiac MRI combined with breathing maneuvers as a safe, simple, and fast diagnostic test for coronary vascular function.
The discovery of the endothelium as a crucial organ for the regulation of the vasculature to physiological needs and the recognition of endothelial dysfunction as a key pathological condition – which is associated with most if not all cardiovascular risk factors – led to a tremendous boost of endothelial research in the past 3 decades. Despite the possibility to measure endothelial function in the individual and its widespread use in research, its use as a clinical tool in daily medicine is not established yet. We review the most common methods to assess vascular function in humans and discuss their advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore we give an overview about clinical settings were endothelial function measurements may be valuable in individual patients. Specifically, we provide information why endothelial function is not only a risk marker for cardiovascular risk but may also provides prognostic information beyond commonly used risk scores in primary prevention, and in patients with already established coronary disease.
Endothelial dysfunction is a key early mechanism in a variety of cardiovascular diseases and can be observed in larger conduit arteries as well as smaller resistance vessels (microvascular dysfunction). The presence of endothelial dysfunction is a strong prognosticator for cardiovascular events and mortality, and assessment of endothelial function can aid in selecting therapies and testing their response. While the gold standard method of measuring coronary endothelial function remains invasive angiography, several non-invasive imaging techniques have emerged for investigating both coronary and peripheral endothelial function. In this review, we will explore and summarize the current invasive and non-invasive modalities available for endothelial function assessment for clinical and research use, and discuss the strengths, limitations and future applications of each technique.
This study evaluated the outcome of patients with mild coronary artery disease based on their endothelial function. 157 patients underwent coronary vascular reactivity evaluation and were divided into 3 groups based on their response to acetylcholine. Over an average 28-month follow-up, none of the patients from group 1 or 2 had cardiac events. However, 6 (14%) with severe endothelial dysfunction had 10 cardiac events. This study supports the concept that coronary endothelial dysfunction may play a role in the progression of coronary atherosclerosis.
Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease that causes hardening and thickening of artery walls and the formation of plaques. The source of mesenchymal cells in these plaques has been under scrutiny. Studies indicate that the endothelium is a source for plaque-associated mesenchymal cells through endothelial–mesenchymal transition (EndMT). EndMT can result in delamination and migration of endothelial cell-derived mesenchymal cells into the underlying tissue. This review focuses on the contribution of EndMT in vascular disease, specifically atherosclerosis, and describes the major biochemical and biomechanical signaling pathways in EndMT during atherosclerosis progression. It also addresses how systemic atherosclerosis risk factors might facilitate EndMT during atherosclerosis.
