PA Consulting helps develop innovative, next-generation thermography system to diagnose heart problems
PA Consulting Group - the international management, systems and technology consultancy - has helped Thermocore Medical Ltd to develop a new diagnostic system to assess patients for the likelihood of a sudden heart attack.
At the heart of the system is a new 5 French, rapid exchange catheter, which is designed to detect and map small temperature variations inside the coronary arteries. These temperature variations are believed to be caused by vulnerable plaque - one of the major causes of sudden heart attack.
Thermocore's temperature catheter system provides a thermal imaging map of the interior of the coronary arteries by incorporating a series of sensitive temperature sensors into the distal end of the catheter system. Mapping of these temperature differentials could potentially help identify and localize vulnerable plaque before it ruptures and creates blood clots that can lead to heart attack.
PA's team managed the design and development of the complete thermography system, incorporating the catheter, a console and an automatic pull-back device. This required the coordination of a range of manufacturers, designers and suppliers across Europe and the US.
PA worked closely with Creganna Medical Devices of Ireland to co-develop the core system component, the catheter device. Finally, PA developed crucial system test and measurement equipment for both development and regulatory purposes.
This work has resulted in a thermography system that is both smaller and easier to use than its predecessor, whilst incorporating greater functionality. The system is now ready for in vitro trials, validation and scale up for volume production. Future clinical trials will be initially aimed at defining the prognostic clinical value of identifying plaque with an elevated temperature. Subsequent clinical studies will be required to assess whether intervention based upon such identification of vulnerable plaque has a favourable effect on clinical outcomes.
Other project partners included Enercon Technologies, Radius Product Development and Cambridge Consultants.
"This has been a challenging project, both in terms of the technical complexity and the tight timescales. The rate of progress and the quality of the final product is testament to the commitment of the PA team and the close cooperation of all the partners involved," said Stewart Fox, Programme Manager.
"PA did a superb job of managing a range of partners, ensuring the different parts of the system work together seamlessly, generating innovative ideas and turning the ideas into product reality. This has all led to an excellent end result - I am very pleased with the system that's been developed and PA's commitment to making that happen," added John Yianni, Thermocore CEO.
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