Renowned physician and scientist Yanis S. Chatzisis, MD, has dedicated his career to treating cardiovascular disease.

Now Professor and Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, he is researching and implementing cutting-edge computational tools to help interventional cardiac specialists provide the highest level of patient care.

“We are bringing together artificial intelligence (AI), computational simulation, and augmented reality (collectively referred to as AISER) in our Digital Cardiovascular Innovation Center,” the only such laboratory in the United States. said Dr. Chatzisis, who leads the multidisciplinary team. “The goal of this center is to support early decision-making and accelerate cardiovascular procedures to improve patient outcomes.”

Technology to build a digital twin of heart arteries

Three-dimensional imaging, AI, and powerful computational tools can create a “digital twin” of a patient’s heart arteries, allowing interventional cardiologists to clearly visualize diseased areas and assess how well different stents can restore blood flow. Can be modeled. Dr. Chatzizisis is also researching how AI applications can accelerate the process so that interventional cardiologists can use these digital tools in real-time in the cardiac catheterization lab to plan each patient’s procedure. Masu.

Currently, coronary interventions such as stents that widen blockages are highly effective at restoring blood flow. However, up to 30% of patients require additional treatment.

“Using these advanced AISER calculation tools gives us the opportunity to do our jobs better,” said Dr. Chatzizisis.

Digital tools can also assist interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons by modeling heart valves in cases of structural heart disease and supporting interventions in peripheral artery disease.

“Digital twins can not only help doctors navigate difficult procedures, but also increase patients’ peace of mind,” Dr. Chatzisis added. “Doctors can share digital twins with patients and families, view their high-resolution 3D simulations of the patient’s specific anatomy, and explain upcoming procedures.”

Dr. Chatzizisis’ research is funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), industry, and philanthropy. We also work with industry to accelerate the research and development process for new cardiovascular devices.

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a major push to find smarter, more cost-effective ways to accelerate research, development, and regulatory approval of cardiovascular devices, and these digital tools is exactly what we need,” he said. “Finding innovative solutions to cardiovascular disease and applying them to patient care keeps me energized and full of ideas for the future.”

Focus on complex coronary artery disease

At the Miller School, Dr. Chatzizisis focuses his clinical practice on the coronary artery bifurcation, where several diseased arteries converge.

“These cases require special skills and techniques to deliver multiple stents into the appropriate locations,” he said, adding that current projects include working on treatment proposals for these difficult cases. He added that

Dr. Chatzizisis currently serves as President of the SCAI Branch Club, a North American association of interventional cardiologists focused on minimally invasive cardiovascular interventions, and is a board member of the European Branch Club, where he was named the He was awarded the award for “A Turning Point Person”. He received the “” award in 2021.

Over the years, Dr. Chatzizisis has authored and published over 200 manuscripts. Circulation, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, Cardiovascular Research and atherosclerosis, Among other magazines. His research has earned him over 10,000 citations and over 40 international and national awards.

Dr. Chatzizisis is the lead author of “First-in-Human Computational Preprocedural Planning of Left Main Interventions Using a New Everolimus-Eluting Stent,” based on research at the Center for the Miller School, and “Artificial Intelligence, He is also the senior author of “Computational Simulations”. , “Augmented Reality in Cardiovascular Interventions”, both Journal of the American College of Cardiology Family Journal for 2022 and 2023 respectively.

“Patient-specific computational simulations may help interventional cardiologists plan cardiovascular interventions in advance,” he wrote in these publications.

Digital Cardiovascular Innovation Center

To advance cardiovascular research and clinical care, Dr. Chatzizisis brings together science, engineering, and medicine with a team that includes biomedical engineers, computer scientists, AI and computer vision experts, physicians, and biologists. We have brought together the Digital Cardiovascular Innovation Center. .

“Our first step is to build a three-dimensional digital twin of a patient’s heart arteries from two-dimensional images,” said Dr. Wei Wu, assistant professor of medicine at the Miller School and the center’s chief engineer. “This is truly a team approach because the doctor wants to know the three-dimensional shape of the affected area and how the disease has progressed. At the same time, the engineer wants to know where to focus his three-dimensional reconstruction. It depends on the doctor’s knowledge about the

Next, the team will develop patient-specific simulations to address complex coronary artery disease.

“Most stents are very small, so it can be difficult to know the exact shape and size to implant,” Dr. Wu said. “We can use our mechanical engineering knowledge to model different stents and show how they expand within the heart arteries.”

The team is also conducting hemodynamic simulations to predict how blood flow in the blocked artery will be affected by the placement of the stent.

“Our center has the engineering and computer capacity to perform both types of simulations,” Dr. Wu said. “These simulations allow operators to predict the outcome of different stent implantation scenarios, potentially allowing them to choose the best one for each specific occlusion.”

Under Dr. Chatzizisis’ leadership, the center’s powerful combination of technology and medical skills is also being applied to help patients who require coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) to treat advanced coronary artery disease. These open-heart surgeries use the patient’s own veins or arteries to bypass the blocked artery.

“The ability to pre-simulate different scenarios for surgeons allows them to better plan surgeries, reduce time in the operating room, and hopefully improve clinical outcomes for patients,” Dr. Wu said. Stated.

AI speeds up heart disease treatment

The next phase of the center’s research includes providing complex 3D scans and simulations to doctors in real time.

“When a patient is diagnosed with severe coronary artery disease, cardiologists and surgeons cannot wait several hours to review a simulation to determine a treatment plan,” Dr. Wu said. “So we are researching ways to use AI-assisted technology to reduce the calculation time after image capture to just a few minutes. This will be very helpful for operators.”

Another breakthrough step involves providing doctors wearing virtual reality or augmented reality headsets with 3D simulations and enlarged images of the heart’s arteries and valves.

“Being able to accurately see an individual patient’s heart anatomy and intervention procedure steps is another way our research will help cardiologists and surgeons make the right decisions for their patients. method,” Dr. Wu said.

AISER technology will also be a great tool for medical education, allowing doctors and students to immerse themselves in digital twins, Dr. Chatzisis said.

“These powerful new tools will help train medical students, residents, fellows, and early career clinicians by allowing them to visualize diseased heart arteries and valves, as well as the devices used to treat these conditions. ” he said. “This is another example of how our work at the Center for Digital Cardiovascular Innovations is changing the landscape of interventional cardiovascular care and helping shape the cardiac catheterization lab of the future. ”

tag: Artificial Intelligence, Cardiovascular Division, Digital Cardiovascular Innovation Center, Coronary Artery Disease, Dr. Wei Wu, Dr. Yanis Chatzisis, Cardiology, Technology