Research In Brief
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Ischemia diagnostic study: Cambridge Heart has initiated a 200-patient study to evaluate microvolt T-wave alternans testing in detection of ischemia in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease, the firm announced July 6. The company is hoping to show that MTWA, which allows real-time intra-cardiac measurements of heart rhythm irregularities, can enhance the diagnosis of underlying ischemia; currently, the test, conducted on its HearTwave II system, is used to assess the risk of potentially fatal arrhythmias. Enrollment in the trial is expected to wrap up in mid-2011. "If the results of the pilot study confirm our finding, we will begin a larger study [in] the second half of 2011," according to Cambridge Heart CEO Ali Haghighi-Mood. The firm announced it had licensed the patent for the incorporation of MWTA in implantable medical devices from MIT in 2008 (1"The Gray Sheet" June 30, 2008)