St Jude Medical’s OCT innovations show benefits in new study

St Jude Medical has announced new clinical trial data showing how optical coherence tomography (OCT) can lead to better outcomes from percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures.

Preliminary results from the ILUMIEN I trial and final results from the ILUMIEN II study have indicated that OCT imaging can help improve stent selection and deployment, clinical decision-making and patient outcomes during PCI.

The first study showed OCT imaging influenced physician decision-making in 65 percent of cases and was associated with reduced rates of heart attack, while the latter revealed that OCT guidance can yield a similar degree of stent expansion, or support full stent deployment, in comparison to intravascular ultrasound (IVUS).

OCT also offers resolutions up to ten times higher than is possible with IVUS, further underlining its benefits.

Mark Carlson, chief medical officer at St Jude Medical, said: "These studies validate the important contribution of OCT in PCI treatment planning, and show a correlation between OCT imaging guidance and improved patient outcomes."

Earlier this month, the company expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of Spinal Modulation, developer of the Axium Neurostimulator System.