On April 22, 2023, RainMed Medical successfully held the "Medicine Progresses with Innovation" Coronary Physiology Symposium at the 26th China Cardiology Intervention Forum (CCIF 2023). In order to promote the diagnostic concepts of coronary physiology evaluation and the clinical application of computed coronary physiology indicators, RainMed invited well-known experts in cardiovascular field to the symposium to discuss the latest advancements in the evaluation of coronary physiology and to explore the application prospects of innovative computed coronary physiology indicators, caFFR and caIMR systems.

Academician Junbo Ge: The medical community is collaborating closely with high-tech enterprises to continuously introduce advanced diagnostic and therapeutic technologies, providing patients with better healthcare services.

Academician Junbo Ge reviewed the history of the birth and development of coronary physiology evaluation and looked ahead to the future perspectives of innovative coronary physiology evaluation technologies. He remarked that innovative coronary physiology evaluation technologies overcome the shortcomings of traditional measurement techniques, and enable easy and reliable physiological evaluation, which can be applied in the daily diagnosis and treatment of coronary heart disease on a routine basis. It represents a model of cooperation between the medical community and high-tech enterprises. The medical community puts forward clinical diagnosis and treatment demands, and high-tech enterprises use advanced technologies to meet these demands, which continuously introduces advanced diagnostic and therapeutic technologies to provide better treatment for patients.

Professor Yong Huo: RainMed Medical's innovative coronary artery functional analysis system can significantly promote the clinical application of coronary physiology evaluation and facilitate precision diagnosis and treatment.

Professor Huo Yong stated that coronary intervention is moving towards precision. The use of FFR to guide intervention treatments has become a clinical routine, and coronary microcirculation function evaluation has also been recommended by guidelines. However, there are certain technical difficulties in guidewire-based measurement, which affect its clinical popularity and have resulted in a range of innovative non-invasive methods for coronary physiology evaluation. RainMed Medical's coronary artery functional analysis system is among the best. Compared to conventional measurement techniques, the system is simple, accurate, safe and reliable, and can significantly promote the clinical application of coronary physiology evaluation. Moreover, the system can comprehensively evaluate coronary function, further promoting precise diagnosis and treatment.

Professor Xiaoxian Qian: RainMed's convenient coronary artery functional analysis system can promote the clinical application of coronary function evaluation, comprehensively evaluate coronary function, and scientifically guide the treatment of coronary heart disease.

In a special report on the development of functional evaluation in the diagnosis and treatment of coronary heart disease, Professor Xiaoxian Qian pointed out that the value of functional evaluation in the accurate diagnosis and treatment of coronary heart disease has been widely recognized.RainMed's coronary artery functional analysis system can not only perform coronary function evaluation conveniently and quickly, but also simultaneously measure caFFR and caIMR values, providing a comprehensive evaluation from the epicardial coronary artery to the coronary microcirculation, accurately guiding the treatment of coronary heart disease.

Professor Yunlong Huo: Based on the coronary function measurement system, RainMed Medical will launch a vascular intervention surgical robot to provide a comprehensive solution for intervention surgery.

Professor Yunlong Huo shared the technical progress of RainMed’s caFFR system and caIMR system. In order to overcome the technical and popularization difficulties of conventional FFR and IMR measurement techniques, RainMed Medical developed caFFR system and caIMR system based on coronary angiography. Compared with conventional measurement techniques, both caFFR and caIMR system have the advantages of simple, safe and rapid operation with extremely high diagnostic accuracy. According to Professor Yunlong Huo, caFFR and caIMR will be integrated as digital functional diagnostic modules in RainMed's vascular interventional surgery robot.

Professor Guangwei Zeng: endovascular imaging is mainly used to guide PCI in complex lesions and it is not recommended for direct functional evaluation.

Prof. Guangwei Zeng discussed the choice between FFR and endovascular imaging. He pointed out that FFR is a functional evaluation method, which is used to determine whether coronary stenosis causes myocardial ischemia and whether PCI is needed, and to evaluate the effect and prognosis of PCI. Endovascular imaging is mainly used for patients with complex lesions requiring PCI to guide and optimize the process of interventional therapy. Guidelines and expert consensus do not recommend direct use of endovascular imaging for functional assessment. For interventional treatment of complex lesions, the combination of FFR and endovascular imaging can better improve prognosis.

Xuesong Yin: RainMed caFFR can directly calculate the FFR and the pressure difference of the whole vessel, which is especially suitable for precise guidance of interventional treatment of tandem and diffuse lesions.

Prof. Xuesong Yin gave a special report on the treatment strategy of tandem and diffuse lesions guided by RainMed’s caFFR. He pointed out that it is necessary to determine whether those lesions require interventional treatment and how to reduce the number of stents. Compared with other assessment methods, FFR can accurately distinguish whether tandem or diffuse lesions are causing ischemia and accurately locate the "culprit" segment. During the treatment, RainMed’s caFFR does not need to withdraw the guidewire. The whole caFFR curve can be calculated directly according to the angiograms, and the pressure difference table can be given, which is especially suitable for precise guidance of interventional treatment of tandem and diffuse lesions.

Professor Jianlin Wang: IMR is an important indicator to evaluate microvascular function, and RainMed’s caIMR is a powerful substitute for guide wire-based IMR.

Professor Jianlin Wang made a special report on the clinical application of the index of coronary microcirculation resistance (IMR). He pointed out that IMR is an important index to evaluate microvascular function. Compared with CFR, IMR can specifically reflect coronary microcirculation function, and its repeatability is higher than CFR. RainMed’s caIMR system directly calculates IMR based on angiograms. Compared with guidewire-based IMR technology, there is no need of pressure guidewire, hyperemic agents, repeated injection of normal saline, which has outstanding advantages of safety, convenience and efficiency. RainMed's caIMR system can replace the guidewire-based IMR and can be widely used in the diagnosis of coronary microcirculation function in patients with coronary heart disease and in the prognosis evaluation of coronary heart disease.

Professor Yang Heyin: It is recommended to use RainMed's coronary artery functional analysis system to comprehensively evaluate the coronary function of STEMI patients and perform appropriate interventions when necessary to further improve prognosis.

Prof. Heyin Yang shared the research progress of FFR-guided non-culprit vascular treatment in STEMI patients. In recent years, with the development of medicine and pharmacy, lots of studies have supported the revascularization of non-culprit vessels in STEMI patients, Yang said. FFR-guided revascularization did not increase any surgical complications, but significantly reduced revascularization rates, and thus significantly reduced composite endpoint events. The most recent U.S. guidelines recommend staged PCI for functional non-infarcted artery stenosis to reduce the risk of death or MI (1,A). Compared with traditional FFR measurement methods, RainMed’s caFFR is safe, efficient, simple and accurate, which can greatly improve the clinical application rate of FFR, said Professor Heyin Yang.

Professor Che Wenliang: Increasing evidence supports the clinical application of RainMed Medical's caIMR system, providing an opportunity for the development of coronary microcirculation function evaluation.

Professor Che Wenliang reported the latest clinical applications of RainMed Medical's caIMR system. He pointed out that the increasing clinical evidence for the caIMR system provides an opportunity for the development of coronary microcirculation function evaluation. The caIMR system can replace the guidewire-derived IMR to diagnose INOCA, diagnose microvascular obstruction after PCI in STEMI patients, perform risk stratification for patients with chronic coronary syndrome and dilated cardiomyopathy, and predict the clinical outcomes of MINOCA patients, stable angina patients after PCI, and STEMI patients. Furthermore, caIMR can also be used as a tool for clinical research to promote the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

Professor Huichao Pan: The combined use of caFFR and IVUS for precise evaluation and optimized treatment can maximize the clinical benefits for patients.

The positioning and application of caFFR system and IVUS in interventional treatment differ. The caFFR system is mainly used to evaluate the degree of stenosis and functional reserve of coronary arteries, assisting in treatment decisions. IVUS is mainly used to assess the internal structure of blood vessels and the characteristics of lesions, guiding and optimizing interventional treatment operations. For complex lesions, the combined use of caFFR system and IVUS can improve prognosis.

The conference presented the clinical advantages of RainMed’s caFFR and caIMR, which are non-interventional coronary functional indicators, and provided an opportunity to improve the clinical application rate of coronary functional evaluation and promote precise coronary diagnosis and treatment. In the future, RainMed Medical will continue to uphold the purpose of "Targeted medical services for people's health", innovatively launch vascular interventional surgery robot to gradually form an "unmanned operating room". Clinicians will be free from tedious, time-consuming work, and the majority of patients will be offered innovative treatment solutions.