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Over 500 people from around the world attended the symposium over the weekend of October 13-15th. Many exciting developments using EBT were presented and discussed. In particular, it was demostrated that sections of the coronary artery can be analyzed for lipid content, thus revealing so called 'soft plaques'. Several researchers discussed the use of EBT to track coronary plaque in response to various treatment regimens. Updates on non-invasive angiography revealed that the new generation scanners can provide excellent resolution, with sensitivity rates between 85-90%, and specificity rates above 90%, for detecting or ruling out coronary narrowings. Several presentations focused on the superiority of EBT versus MRI or spiral scanners for indentifying and quantifying coronary plaque. Other investigators discussed EBT as a tool for measuring perfusion of heart muscle, for doing non-invasive angiograms of various peripheral arteries and the aorta, and for determining the severity of aortic stenosis.

9/21/00- The July 2000 issue of The Journal of the American College of Cardiology reports EBT superior to stress testing with or without nuclear medicine for predicting significant coronary artery narrowings.

The study found that those with coronary calcium had a 4.5 fold increase in risk for a narrowing, while abnormal stress tests only increased risk for a narrowing by 1.72 (no nuclear medicine) and 1.96 (with nuclear medicine). This suggests that stress tests may often underestimate the severity of a patient's coronary artery narrowings.

8/31/00- American Heart Association (AHA) Publishes Paper Supporting Use of EBT Coronary Artery Scan in Determining Need for Additional Cardiac Testing

The American Heart Association highlighted a publication in its July 25, 2000 issue of Circulation, validating the accuracy of Imatron's EBT scanner in the prediction of heart disease. This important research finding clearly demonstrates significantly better test specificity (the ability to produce a normal result in those persons without cardiac disease) for the EBT coronary artery scan for calcification than had previously been thought.

The study, authored by Larry Bielak, MD, and colleagues in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, included 213 patients at high risk, with symptoms of heart disease, who underwent both coronary angiography and the EBT coronary artery scan, together with 765 asymptomatic research subjects who had only the EBT coronary artery scan. All clinical studies were performed at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and the project was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

The paper, entitled, ``Probabilistic Model for Prediction of Angiographically Defined Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease Using Electron Beam Computed Tomography Calcium Score Strata,'' shows that EBT coronary artery calcium scores are predictive of coronary artery disease (CAD) in asymptomatic patients as well as those with symptoms. By eliminating a source of bias commonly present in such research studies, the investigators demonstrated that the specificity of the EBT coronary artery scan for the determination of obstructive CAD was 72.4%, significantly better than the approximately 50% reported previously. EBT coronary artery scan sensitivity, the ability to correctly detect the presence of obstructive disease, was a remarkable 97%. According to senior author Dr. Patricia A. Peyser, there was ``strong evidence'' from calcium scores in patients of either sex as to the presence or absence of obstructive CAD. The authors further stated that results of the EBT coronary artery scan should be combined with everything else that physicians already know about their patients to develop a comprehensive CAD diagnosis and treatment strategy. Moreover, they believe that EBT is ``useful for monitoring the progression of atherosclerosis and for identifying patients who need aggressive treatment to lower risk factors.''

8/18/00- Drs. Michael and Tabita Wright Interviewed on the Roger Hedgecock Show

Roger discussed TotalScore with Drs. Wright after reading an email from one of his listeners who underwent TotalScore and found a lung nodule which was cancerous. The nodule was successfully removed, and no evidence of cancer was found anywhere else. The patient was thus cured. Typically, lung cancer has a cure rate of only 12%.

8/15/00- Dr. Wright Interviewed for CBS HealthWatch Article on Dick Cheney's Heart Disease

Dr. Wright discussed stroke with reference to the recent stroke suffered by former president Gerald Ford.

6/28/00- LifeScore® to Participate in Major Research Project Funded by the American Heart Association

Dr. Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, Professor of Family and Preventive Medicine, and Chief, Division of Epidemiology at UCSD, and member of the LifeScore® Medical Advisory Board, has received notification that she has been awarded a grant for a major research project utilizing electron beam tomography. Dr. Barrett-Connor has received numerous awards and honors for her work in cardiovascular epidemiology.

She is the founder and lead researcher of the Ranch Bernardo Study (RBS), which tested an intitial cohort of 4,373 adults in Rancho Bernardo, Califonia in 1974, and has tracked the cohort since then, measuring over 30 physiologic, biologic, and behavioral variables. Dr. Barrett-Connor and LifeScore® will study 800 of the RBS participants with coronary artery calcium scoring and measurements of visceral fat done with the scanner. We will correlate the scan data with other variables that have been collected and determine the influence of various parameters on the development of coronary atherosclerosis.

We will study 200 Filipina women, 200 African American women, 200 white men and 200 white women of Northern European ancestry. In particular, we will try to identify those parameters which are most closely associated with atherosclerosis in these genetically different groups of men and women.

6/10/00- Huge German Study to Study EBT as a Predictor of Heart Disease Risk

A $5 million German study of 4,500 men and women from a random sample of the general population in the Ruhr district of Germany will compare the direct detection of atherosclerosis with EBT to standard risk factor analysis and visualization of the carotids and peripheral vessels, as well as newer risk factors, to determine the best way to prevent symptomatic heart disease.

An article in the European Heart Journal entitled "Electron Beam Computed Tomography for Detection of Early Signs od Coronary Atherosclerosis" describes EBT as the technique of choice for the assessment of calcified lesions and states EBT measurement of plaque is superior to intravascular ultrasound as it is not limited to segments of the coronary artery tree that can be reached by the ultrasound catheter.

6/1/00- New England Journal of Medicine Article Tracks Coronary Artery Calcification in Dialysis Patients

EBT was used to screen 39 young patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing dialysis (mean age 19 years), and 60 normal subjects 20-30 years of age. Coronary calcification was present in none of the patients under 20, and in 88% of the patients between 20 and 30 years of age. In contrast, only 3/60 normal subjects had calcification. The mean score in the group with calcification was 1157, and the median was 297. Among 10 patients with calcification who underwent follow-up scans, the calcification score nearly doubled over a mean period of 20 months.

LifeScore® was featured on the KSWB-TV nightly news on 5/26/00. The segment followed a patient through the TotalScore examination. The patient had a prior history of thyroid cancer and was interested in making sure that no signs were present of recurrent disease.

Men's Health has an article entitled '10 New Ways to Protect Your Heart'. EBCT is described, and readers are referred to the LifeScore® website for further information. Also, see the link www.menshealth.com/health/cardio.html.

A research article in the February 29th issue of Circulation demonstrated that EBCT was able to define a 59-fold increase in risk of coronary events based on the coronary artery calcium score. Traditional risk factors such as cholesterol and blood pressure could only define a 12-fold increase in risk. The predictive power of EBCT is unprecendented in a non-invasive screening tool.

Steve Bosch, newscaster for KUSI news (channel 9) visited LifeScore® and prepared a story including interviews with Dr. Michael Wright and a HeartScore patient, as well as images from a HeartScore test. The story appeared on the 7 pm and 10 pm news on 2/15 and the am news on 2/16.

The 1/25/00 issue of Circulation (American Heart Association journal) includes an article which studied the ability of EBCT to predict silent myocardial ischemia (ischemia is the medical term for inadequate blood flow to an organ). 3,895 subjects were studied over 2.5 years. The results showed that a coronary artery calcium score greater than 400 was highly predictive of an abnormal stress test using thallium or another radionuclide substance. 46% of those with scores over 400 had stress perfusion abnormalities (P<0.0001). All the patients were asymptomatic (no history of chest pain). The authors finish their report by stating:

"Our results support the role of EBCT as the initial screening tool for identifying individuals at various stages of CAD development for whom therapeutic decision making may differ considerably."

Using streaming video technology, anyone can see a description of the LifeScore® EBCT scanning program by going to http://www.healthsurfing.com/health/2000/01/11/. HealthSurfing.com is an innovative website which creates health stories that can be viewed on the web or downloaded by local network TV stations for use on their news shows.

The HealthSurfing Report and HealthSurfing.com are created by and are trademarks of InterNetworkNews (INN), a division of WebFeeds, Inc.
Copyright © 1999 INN/WebFeeds

1/6/00- Electron Beam CT Named as Top Ten Research Advance of 1999 by the American Heart Association

The American Heart Association year end report listed the top ten research advances in heart disease and stroke for 1999. Electron Beam CT was listed for its ability to non-invasively diagnose both the atherosclerotic plaque burden, using calcium scoring, and the extent of artery narrowing using electron beam angiography. The combination of these two tests permits physicians to perform a complete and powerful non-invasive assessment of the status of the coronary arteries, thus providing a powerful tool for preventing the onset of symptoms through early risk management techniques.

Imatron Inc. announced today that it has received 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market and sell the angiographic capabilities of its Electron Beam Tomography (EBT) scanner.

Imatron's EBT scanner can now be marketed to perform Electron Beam Angiography (EBA) of the coronary arteries, a minimally invasive procedure. EBA is unique to EBT and is made possible due to the scanner's unparalleled scan speed. EBA is significantly less invasive and less expensive than the alternative cardiac catheterization procedure, or coronary angiography, and is anticipated that it will be routinely performed in medical facilities worldwide.

Imatron's EBT scanner, when used angiographically, is intended to function as a diagnostic x-ray system that can produce two- and three-dimensional images of the heart, blood vessels, or lymphatic system from a data set of cross-sectional anatomical images. In addition, the EBA application can also present three-dimensional images of the heart in a time-sequenced or cine fashion; in essence, a four-dimensional evaluation of cardiac function, with the fourth dimension being time.

KUSI interviewed Dr. Wright for the 10pm news during the Great American Smoke Out to discuss ways of quitting smoking, and the interaction of cigarettes and heart disease.

Rod Luck made a live visit to the LifeScore® Center and tracked a patient through her scan and the review of her results. The segments appeared on KUSI's morning news show.

Carol Lebau on the channel 10 evening news presented an excellent overview of the HeartScore program. The segment followed a patient through the process, and contained an interview with Dr. Michael Wright. Carol was also scanned, and revealed her results to her co-anchors.

10/03/99 - Senator Paul Simon Talks About His Experience with EBCT.

Two recent articles discuss former Senator Paul Simon’s experience with heart disease. The 6/22/99 issue of USA Today carries an article by Mr. Simon in which he describes how his scan revealed severe disease and lead to a successful operation and a renewed sense of vigor. He again wrote about this experience for Parade magazine, which appears in hundreds of sunday newspapers across the country. He attributes his scan with saving his life.

10/30/99 - Dr. Michael and Tabita Wright discuss LifeScore® on the Roger Hedgecock show.

On Friday, October 29th, Roger discussed heart disease and its prevention through UltraFast CT scanning on his afternoon radio show. The Drs. Wright were on hand to explain how the scanner is used as part of a comprehensive preventive care program for the heart. Listeners called in and had their questions about heart disease answered. If you would like a copy of this informative tape, email us at info@LifeScore.com.

10/12/99 - LifeScore® on Channel 8 Evening News

An excellent overview of the HeartScore program was presented on the channel 8 evening news, including a discussion by Dr. Michael Wright of the indications for the test, a complete patient exam, and discussion of related issues. If you are interested in receiving a tape of the show, please let us know at info@LifeScore.com.