Optical microcatheters for coronary physiology assessments

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This project is focused on the development of a new medical device to improve diagnosis and treatment of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). CHD remains the leading cause of death worldwide. Patient symptoms occur when a build-up of plaque restricts coronary blood flow. Clinicians' decisions about treatment are often guided by data from medical devices placed inside the arteries of the heart. Currently, these devices provide information about differences in blood pressure on either side of plaque build-up, to determine whether to place a stent.We are developing a new medical device that provides direct information about both blood flow and blood pressure. Direct measures of blood flow have been shown to be valuable to improve clinical decision-making about whether to place a coronary stent. Our solution will be compatible with clinical workflow, and by providing direct measures of blood flow, it will lead to more accurate assessments about whether stent placement is required, which will improve patient outcomes and reduce costs to the healthcare system.One of the innovative aspects of our device is a novel fibre-optic sensing platform that comprises a highly miniaturised, fibre-optic flow and pressure sensor, and a single-use miniature microcatheter device into which the sensor is integrated.The technology has been validated in the benchtop laboratory and in early-stage pre-clinical models. The aim of this project is to develop advanced prototype devices and to test them in clinically-realistic settings. The project will fulfil a key development step: the progression to clinically-validated pre-clinical prototypes to enable commercial manufacturing for future clinical trials.