Abbott Launches Artificial Intelligence-Powered Imaging Platform

Abbott recently announced that its artificial intelligence-powered,coronary imaging platform launched in Europe. 

The platform, which is now CE marked in Europe, is the first-of-its-kind imaging software that leverages optical coherence tomography (OCT). OTC is an imaging tool that provides physicians a comprehensive view inside an artery or blood vessel using artificial intelligence. 

The Ultreon 1.0 Software can detect the severity of calcium-based blockages and measure vessel diameter to boost the precision of physicians’ decision-making during coronary stenting procedures, an Abbott spokesperson explained. 

Ultimately, Abbott’s OCT technology will help physicians make better treatment decisions for their patients. 

"Increased adoption of OCT imaging, when combined with advanced technology like AI, allows cardiologists to have a more precise and measurable way of supporting patients undergoing coronary stent procedures," Nick West, MD, chief medical officer and divisional vice president of global medical affairs at Abbott’s vascular business, said in the announcement.  

"Ultreon Software can potentially improve physician and patient experience by utilizing a systematic process, reducing variability and increasing accuracy of diagnosis and application of therapies,” West continued. 

Recent data has shown that physicians may change their treatment strategy in 88 percent of coronary artery blockages based on new information provided by OTC when used with MLD MAX, a workflow that helps to guide decisions and provide physicians with the right tools to optimize stent placement.

Abbott mentioned an August 2020 study called Beyond Intervention, in which physicians and administrators identified technology as a critical component to improve patient outcomes across the healthcare continuum as a whole.

Over half of the interviewed physicians identified technology and data as having the greatest potential to support decision-making at diagnosis and determining a treatment for a patient. 

Ultreon Software is a technology designed to expand physician decision-making, specifically when combined with tools that provide a comprehensive physiological assessment of coronary blood flow and severity of blockages, an Abbott spokesperson explained.

These blockages include Resting Full-Cycle Ratio (RFR) and Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR).

"Ultreon’s customizable user interface and AI detection will make decision-making faster and reduce procedural variability, especially for the increasing number of physicians who are learning to utilize OCT imaging over other more traditional imaging technologies," said Jose Mª de la Torre Hernández, MD, head of interventional cardiology at Hospital Universitario Marques de Valdecilla.

"The automatic display of details with Ultreon reduces uncertainty during the preparation for stent placement and allows for increased accuracy to help us deliver better care to our patients,” added Mª de la Torre Hernández, who is also editor-in-chief of REC: Interventional Cardiology. 

The Ultreon Software will be showcased in mid-May of this year. Abbott intends to seek approval for the platform in the US and Japan and will also continue to develop medical technologies to offer physicians and administrators the tools to provide the best care and best possible outcomes for patients. 

Technology, especially artificial intelligence, continues to be a vital part of improving patient care throughout the healthcare industry.

In mid-April, the FDA authorized marketing of the GI Genius, a medical device that uses artificial intelligence to assist clinicians in detecting signs of colon cancer.

GI Genius is based on machine learning and uses an artificial intelligence algorithm to highlight proportions of the colon where there may be a potential lesion, including polyps or suspected tumors, in real time during a colonoscopy. 

The device generates markers accompanied by a short, low-volume sound and displays them on the video from the endoscope camera when it identifies a potential lesion.

The software then signals to the clinician that further assessment may be needed, including visual inspection, tissue sampling, testing or removal, or ablation of the lesion.