UK developed heart disease detection technology is set for US trials

The Vitalscan device, which is already two-thirds of the way through a clinical trial in four UK hospitals, will now be tested in a number of emergency departments in the US.

In the UK, over five per cent of visits to accident and emergency departments, and up to 40 per cent of emergency admissions, are the result of chest pain.

While around three-quarters of these patients will ultimately be found not to have a serious heart condition, they must all undergo a series of rigorous and expensive tests, according to Steve Parker, CEO of Vitalscan developer Creavo Medical Technologies.

“Most people would think that if you turn up to a hospital with chest pain, it is very easy to detect a heart attack or other serious cardiac event, but the reality is that it can take up to 20 hours of investigations for clinicians to be able to tell that you do not have a serious heart problem.”