Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of death in the developed world, accounting for around a third of all deaths. It remains a tremendous medical and cost burden on society.

The identification and application of novel cardio biomarkers has helped cardiologists to stratify high risk patients whilst the advances in diagnostic imaging has lead to improvements in the speed and resolution of images, increasing its clinical utility in the detection, diagnosis and treatment of CVD whilst minimizing the need for invasive procedures.

In addition, diagnostic imaging provides cardiologists with detailed anatomical (CT, MRI, US), metabolic and functional (nuclear imaging, fMRI) information upon which an accurate diagnosis an be made. Currently no single imaging test is superior to all the others and a variety of imaging modalities may be used to diagnose CVD.
A variety of cardiac biomarkers are now available including those to determine cholesterol & lipoproteins levels, cardiac necrosis, thrombosis, inflammation and genetic variants - to aid in patient risk stratification and the diagnosis of a range of cardiovascular conditions – acute coronary syndrome (ACS), coronary artery disease (CAD), heart failure (HF), stroke and pulmonary embolism (PE). A raft of possible and probable cardiac biomarkers are currently under evaluation that if successful, may provide cardiologist with a more comprehensive assessment of cardiovascular risk and prognosis.

Meanwhile in vitro diagnostic (IVD) companies have launched a range of assay platforms including laboratory bases ultra high through systems to point of care (PoC) bench top and hand held devices. Enabling rapid and cost-effective testing and migrating CV testing from the hospital to the clinic and bedside.


Key features of this report


- Highlight some of the key technologies which IVD and healthcare companies are developing to maximize the using of medical imaging in the detection and diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases

- Analysis the recent advances in cardiac biomarker discovery and validation and their potential application as single or multimarket tests in the clinic and emergency department.

- Discuss the shift in the decentralization of cardiac diagnostics from the laboratory based testing to PoC testing in the emergency room due to advances in biosensor and the adoption of wireless technology and leading to improvements in the speed and cost of cardiac testing

- Identify the novel imaging technologies and instruments that may revolutionize cardiovascular imaging, including the development of 124 and 245 multislice CT, hybrid systems (PET-CT, SPECT-CT and the development of highly portable and miniaturized ECG and US equipment.


Scope of this report

- Identify key technologies for IVD and diagnostic imaging and their applications in early diagnosis, treatment and patient monitoring of a range of cardiovascular diseases

- Identify the companies leading the field in developing novel technologies for IVD and diagnostic imaging

- Discover the approaches being adopted by the leading IVD and healthcare companies

- Discover the potential of these products and technologies for improving diagnosis and guiding treatment decisions earlier during the course of cardiovascular disease process to help to reduce long-term healthcare costs


Key Market Issues

- Improving diagnosis: Increasingly, IVD testing is being used by cardiologist in conjunction with diagnostic imaging to stratify patient risk, to improve diagnosis, minimize the use of invasive procedures, and improve patient management.

- IVD testing to identify patient predisposed to disease and to determine prognosis: Several tests are now available that can indentify asymptomatic patients that are at high risk of CV disease allowing for early dietary and lifestyle interventions and the prescription of preventative medicine if necessary, in addition prognostic tests following MI are available to help guide cardiologist for the most appropriate long-term therapeutic or surgical intervention helping to minimizing future risk.

- Innovative opportunities: Molecular imaging is one of the most rapidly evolving areas of medical imaging and has application in drug R&D and clinical diagnostics. Molecular imaging can be applied in the clinical setting molecular imaging probes may be used as surrogate endpoints to assess new treatments or monitor the effect of therapy for a variety of diseased states, leading to developmental cost-savings through the rapid accumulation of clinical evidence to support drug approval and usage.

Key findings from this report

- Diagnostic screening using both IVD and diagnostic imaging technologies can lead to the early detection of disease to minimize the use of invasive procedures, and improve patient management.

- New biomarkers test could provide a more comprehensive assessment from which to stratify patient treatment and escalate additional diagnostic aids or treatment.

- New technologies that replace the need for X-rays and radioactivity are under development such as magnetic particle imaging (MPI) could revolutionize the way cardiovascular imaging modalities are used in the future for diagnosis, treatment and maintenance therapy.

Key questions answered

- What has driven the increasing usage of IVD and diagnostic imaging modalities in recent years?

- Which technologies are at the forefront of cardiovascular IVD and diagnostic imaging and where are they most appropriate for clinical diagnosis and treatment of disease?

- What are the key technologies and areas of innovation in cardiovascular diagnostics?

- What strategies are the leading IVD and healthcare companies using in order to remain at the forefront of CV diagnostics and responding to consumer needs for safe, more efficient, portable/PoC and cost effective diagnostics.


Table of Contents



180 pages

Publication Date : March 2010