CardiArc, Inc. has announced the establishment of a research and testing program in which healthcare research institutions will be loaned CardiArc SPECT system devices.

The company is seeking independent testing, evaluations in clinical settings and publication of results regarding the design and performance of its cardiovascular camera.

Cleveland Clinic will receive the first commercially manufactured unit, which is expected to be installed in July. Other agreements are in the works and will be announced soon.

"We're very proud one of the world's premier healthcare institutions, especially noted for its excellence in cardiovascular and nuclear medicine, has agreed to serve as our first clinical evaluation site for our production model," noted Jack Juni, M.D., F.A.C.N. P., CardiArc's founder and chief technology officer. "Clinical testing and research will be invaluable in ensuring the CardiArc SPECT system meets the highest possible standards in cardiac diagnostic imaging and patient care."

Evaluation will consist of at least 100 scans performed on individuals using both the CardiArc SPECT system and again on a clinical SPECT machine currently in use at Cleveland Clinic. All patient identification information will be removed. Additionally, a database will be created of CardiArc scans of normal hearts at rest and under stress, and also scans of diseased hearts. Manuel Cerqueira, M.D., the Clinic's chairman of the department of nuclear medicine and past president of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology will serve as principal investigator.

The CardiArc SPECT device has been specifically optimized for use in out-patient settings and emergency rooms. It can pass through a standard 36-inch wide doorway, can be used in a six- by seven-foot exam room, requires no room modifications for installation or operation and uses US or European standard voltage. Power consumption is less than 200 watts.

SPECT is a standard non-invasive diagnostic imaging procedure performed and widely available in most hospitals and some outpatient clinics. It creates very accurate, three-dimensional images of blood flow and function of a major organ, such as the heart or brain. Energy from a radionuclide (tracer) which has been injected into the body is detected by a scanner, which takes a number of images from different angles, similar to the way a CAT scan produces images. SPECT is highly accurate in detecting coronary artery disease.

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