June 12, 2015 - Researchers announce the results of an early study that shows a fused fluoroscopic/ echocardiographic imaging (FFEI) system is feasible and provides improved guidance of interventional procedures in pediatric patients with congenital heart disease. An estimated 40,000 children are born in the United States each year with various forms of Congenital Heart Disease, with at least a quarter of those requiring some type of surgical intervention. The study is being presented at the 2015 American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) June 12- 16, in Boston.

While FFEI systems have been used in adult patients undergoing various cardiac procedures, its use has not been widely explored during catheterization procedures in pediatric patients.  In this study, the FFEI system was successfully used in 25 patients with congenital heart disease from January 2013 to January 2015. Twenty out of 25 procedures were graded as superior (80%) and none were graded as inferior. "These results show that procedural guidance using FFEI systems in congenital heart disease is not only feasible, but it also provides improved guidance over the current standard of care," noted Primary Investigator Pei-Ni Jone, M.D., of Children's Hospital Colorado.