06 Feb 19. Edinburgh winners at SCCT meeting

The SCCT (Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography) winter meeting took place in Dublin on the 24^th and 25^th January 2019.

SCCT meeting

The two day conference was attended by world leading experts in the field of cardiovascular CT who discussed the current state of cardiovascular CT and the role it will play in 2019. Clinicians and scientists were encouraged to highlight their latest research into cardiovascular computed tomography, and how this will in the future affect the area of research and hopefully improve patient outcomes. The objectives of this meeting were:

1. To understand current best practices in cardiovascular CT in coronary artery disease, structural and congenital heart disease, electrophysiology and heart muscle and valve disease assessment.
2. To be able to analyse whether cardiovascular CT is the most appropriate test to investigate cardiovascular pathology and be able to communicate the strengths and weaknesses of the technique compared with alternative imaging modalities.
3.  To be aware of current research applications of cardiovascular CT that may impact on future clinical assessment.

 

Abstract winners

Many congratulations go to Edinburgh's Dr Michelle Williams and Dr Maaz Syed for being awarded the top prizes for their abstract submissions.

 

Michelle’s abstract

We were delighted that Dr Michelle Williams, Clinical Lecturer in Cardiothoracic Radiology in the Centre for Cardiovascular Science was awarded first prize for her abstract submission -  “Presence and quantification of valvular heart disease in the SCOT-HEART trial”.

Below Michelle summaries what the study looked at, and the findings from the study. 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcct.2018.12.015

This study looked at the presence of incidental calcification in the valves of the heart in patients undergoing CT coronary angiography as part of the SCOT-HEART trial. We found that calcification of the aortic and mitral valves was a frequent incidental finding on CT coronary angiography and that visual scoring of this could be used to assess its severity.

Dr Michelle Williams

 

Maaz’s abstract

Congratuations also to Dr Maaz Syed, a Clinical Research Fellow also in the Centre for Cardiovascular Science who was awarded the runner up prize for his abstract submission - "Early experience of 18F-Sodium Fluoride Positron Emission Tomography/ Computed Tomography in Aortic Dissections".

Below Maaz summaries what the study found.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcct.2018.12.043

Our study showed, for the first time, that a combination of ¹⁸F-Sodium Fluoride Positron Emission tomography (PET) and modern Computed tomography (CT) scans can detect damaged sections of the aorta following aortic dissection. Furthermore, we saw that individuals with known risk factors, such as smoking and high blood pressure, had abnormal ¹⁸F-Sodium Fluoride PET scans. This is an exciting discovery. ¹⁸F-Sodium Fluoride PET/CT may help us identify diseased aorta at an earlier stage. This is the focus of our British Heart Foundation-supported research. Ultimately, the information from these scans may improve treatments and prevent complications.

Dr Maaz Syed