VIRTU-4: how might virtual FFR impact coronary artery disease?
Research type
Research Study
Full title
How will virtual (computed) fractional flow reserve (vFFR) impact the management of coronary artery disease? VIRTU 4
IRAS ID
270127
Contact name
Julian Gunn
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Sheffield
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Patients with narrowed heart arteries experience chest pain, breathlessness and heart attacks. The best way to assess the seriousness of a patient’s condition is to pass a wire down the arteries to measure blood pressure changes. This accurately determines whether a patient will benefit from a procedure to open the blood vessels up. However, only a small minority have this test because the wire is expensive and takes time to use. We have developed a computer model which calculates the pressure measurements from pictures of the blood vessel without needing the wire. This provides the benefits of pressure measurements to thousands more patients, at minimal risk, with cost savings. In this study, we will test our system in real hospital settings, to see how it would influence the care of patients, and how much money it might save. We will not actually alter patient care, because our system has not yet been approved for clinical use, but we can test it out and see what difference it might make. We will do this by asking the specialists to say what their treatment plan is, then reveal our computed measurement of blood flow, and then ask how their plan would differ now they know this information.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/NW/0580
Date of REC Opinion
1 Oct 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion