November 19, 2013 — Esaote will showcase Prevention Suite, a unique package of ultrasound imaging modalities for both cardiac and vascular investigations at the EuroEcho-Imaging 2013 conference Dec. 11-14 in Istanbul, Turkey.
Prevention Suite provides clinicians with a wide range of tools for assessing a patient’s risk of cardiovascular disease quickly and reliably, often before symptoms occur. It is regarded as providing a “step change” in terms of early detection and prevention of cardiovascular disease using ultrasound.
The four advanced technologies that make up Prevention Suite are CFI, XStrain, RF-QIMT and RF-QAS, which measure coronary flow quantification, cardiac deformation indexes, carotid intima-media thickness and arterial stiffness, respectively. The vascular measurements are performed using RF signal analysis, which provides high spatial resolution for greater accuracy.
Fausto Rigo, Cardiac Diagnostic Imaging Department head, Dell’Angelo Hospital, Mestre-Venice, Mestrem Italy and professor of sonography and echocardiography, University of Padua, Padua, Italy, has used Esaote’s Prevention Suite extensively in both inpatient and outpatient examinations.
“For clinicians ranging from GPs (general practitioners) to cardiologists, Prevention Suite is a unique and technically superb ‘one-stop-shop’ for cardiovascular assessment. It allows us to quickly and reliably make an appraisal of the patient, providing information about the actual biological risk of atherosclerosis. Prevention Suite’s resolution for vessel analysis is particularly impressive. There is no equivalent that allows us this multiplicity of information in the pre-clinical phase. Patients are fascinated by the examination too, and Prevention Suites’ real-life images are highly persuasive in convincing them to modify their lifestyle.”
Reducing cardiovascular disease risk, cutting costs
Early detection approach using imaging of key cardiovascular regions can be an important way of addressing an extremely costly issue: In 2011, the American Heart Association (AHA) estimated that by 2030, the cost of treating cardiovascular diseases will rise from $273 billion to $818 billion.
“Atherosclerosis is one of the pathologies which can remain asymptomatic for a long time,” said Cristina Giannattasio, M.D., Ph.D., head of Cardiology IV, Cardiologic Department, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy. “The availability of dedicated cardiac and vascular measurements in the same device offers a more user-friendly and comprehensive assessment with the benefit of being able to detect early risk of CV (cardiovascular) disease.”
“In the future, preventative approaches will be the best way of reducing morbidity and mortality,” added Giannattasio.
Ongoing clinical studies involving hundreds of patients at clinical centers throughout Europe have started to show the benefits of a preventative screening approach.
“The integration of cardiac and vascular assessments will help physicians identify the actual biological risk of atherosclerosis,” said Rigo. “Once clinical risk is identified, clinicians can work with patients on early intervention strategies and lifestyle modification before the risk of CVD (cardiovascular disease) escalates. As well as having clear patient benefits, pre-clinical assessments may help prevent hospitalizations and acute therapies, yielding significant long-term cost savings.”
Prevention Suite is available across Esaote’s range of ultrasound products. Technology and features are system/configuration dependent. Specifications are subject to change without notice. Information might refer to products or modalities not yet approved in all countries. XStrain 4-D and RF-QAS are not currently available in the United States.
For more information: www.esaote.com
April 03, 2024 
