Tim van de Hoef, interventional cardiologist and clinical scientist at UMC Utrecht, together with Hester den Ruijter and Charlotte Onland-Moret, will lead a research project on more personalized diagnostics for vascular walls. For this they will receive a grant of 262,000 euros from the Open PPS program of the Heart Foundation. This will allow the team to collaborate with a company to bring scientific results into practice more quickly.
Research shows that the vascular wall differs between men and women. Women also experience frequent symptoms after endothelial treatments and are also more likely to maintain angina pectoris (heart spasm). Angina pectoris is chest pain caused by lack of oxygen. To better understand these differences, Tim van de Hoef, Hester den Ruijter and Charlotte Onland-Moret in collaboration with Medis, will look at characteristics that can predict poor vascular function (coronary dysfunction). In doing so, they will focus not only on the major blood vessels, but on the entire vascular system in and around the heart.
The researchers will analyze existing images from the CT scan and images during cardiac catherization to see if they can use those images to speed the diagnosis of coronary dysfunction. Now that diagnosis can only be made invasively with an additional cardiac catheterization, and the researchers believe they can already use existing images in routine care to better see who does or does not have the disease. In doing so, the researchers expect to improve the care pathway for women and men with persistent symptoms after endothelial artery treatment and also make the diagnosis more patient-friendly.
The Heart Foundation is funding a total of four research projects in which researchers can collaborate with a company. With funds from the Matching Grant and Open PPS program, they are thus accelerating implementation in practice. Both programs are funded with a contribution from Health~Holland to stimulate cooperation between researchers and industry. In doing so, they create sustainable partnerships that bridge the long road from research to practice.
Want to know more about all the research projects? Read more about the other research projects here.
