TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Conavi Medical Inc., a leader of hybrid imaging guidance for common minimally invasive heart procedures, and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, today announced that the Novasight Hybrid System is now being used for clinical procedures by interventional cardiologists as part of the Schulich Heart Program.

Sunnybrook’s Schulich Heart Program is one of Canada’s leading cardiac and vascular care centres with an international reputation for pioneering some of the world’s most innovative ways to diagnose and treat the heart and damaged blood vessels.

The hybrid intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging platform, now called Novasight Hybrid System, was initially invented at Sunnybrook Research Institute (SRI) by Dr. Brian Courtney, a scientist and interventional cardiologist. It is the first and only clinical system available on the market that enables simultaneous and co-registered imaging of coronary arteries with both IVUS and OCT to help physicians visualize disease and deploy stents to open the arteries and restore blood flow in percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs).
“At Sunnybrook, we are continually striving to bring personalized and precise diagnostics and treatments to our patients. In fact, it’s a key part of our strategic plan,” said Andy Smith, President and CEO of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. “Novasight is one of the many innovative tools that Sunnybrook is working on to help us achieve our goal, and we couldn’t be more proud to use this Canadian-developed technology.”

The Schulich Heart Program provides comprehensive cardiac and vascular care for some of the most complex cases in Ontario. From prevention to acute intervention and long-term management, the Program addresses the greatest health challenges in all areas of the heart and vascular systems.

“Having both a technical and clinical care background, this hybrid system was invented based on a combination of intensive research activities in image guided therapy and clinical needs identified during patient care. I saw an opportunity to improve imaging for minimally invasive heart procedures by creating a hybrid system that combines IVUS and OCT imaging, rather than having to choose one or the other,” said Dr. Brian Courtney, interventional cardiologist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and chief medical officer and co-founder, Conavi Medical. “After years of development, it is incredibly rewarding to now be using this advanced and pragmatic technology at Sunnybrook, where it all started. The versatility of the system has already proved useful in a variety of complex cases, such as multi-vessel disease, heavy calcification, and cases where intravascular lithotripsy was used, allowing for better patient outcomes.”

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