Zebra Medical Vision has announced its eighth FDA 510(k) clearance for its cardiac solution, HealthCCSng which has already received a CE mark. The CAC solution will empower clinicians to report findings and recommend preventative treatments before a coronary event occurs, subsequently saving lives while lowering costs for the healthcare systems. Last month Zebra-Med announced it has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Nanox, an innovative medical imaging company. This agreement, once consummated, puts Zebra-Med on track to expand its mission of helping to diagnose populations at scale with its AI-based solutions, enabling IDNs and commercial payers to detect and treat patients at risk for chronic conditions while accurately adjusting their covered population risk.

Approximately 90 per cent of the annual US $ 3.5 trillion healthcare spending is allocated towards chronic disease management. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) leads to all chronic diseases with the highest mortality in the world, with many cases discovered far too late. Up to 50 per cent of patients discover they suffer from CVD only with their first heart attack. CAC scoring is the strongest predictor of future cardiac events, with patients in the highest score category being over 20 times more likely to suffer a cardiac event. Moreover, many studies show a clear correlation between coronary artery calcium detected and the severity of the disease. Typically, CAC scoring may be attained on a cardiac-gated scan which subjects patients to additional cost and radiation exposure and is typically not covered by insurance companies.

The HealthCCSng solution developed by Zebra-Med analyses commonly ordered non-gated CT scans, which enables the quantification of the Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) as an incidental finding and categorises the patients into three categories, based on the extent of cardiac calcium detected. The solution supports clinicians in diagnosing patients with CVD who were previously undetected while stratifying such patients so that they can get the appropriate preventative cardiac care and treatment. By implementing the FDA-cleared HealthCCSng, IDNs and commercial payers can actively manage and stratify their covered population health risk, while significantly reducing the cost of care through early intervention. As a result, patients can be placed on relevant care pathways to prevent or mitigate the chance of a future incident by detecting early signs of disease and estimating the likelihood of future cardiovascular events.