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Current Projects

The Cardiac Imaging Research Team is dedicated to fighting heart disease by developing powerful new methods that can recognize at-risk individuals and evaluate atherosclerosis years or even decades before catastrophic events can occur.

• EISNER Heart Study
• NIH Funded Projects
• Outcomes Research
• Clinical Trials

EISNER Heart Study

• Cardiac CT scanning has been shown to be useful in detecting subclinical coronary atherosclerosis, however the relative usefulness of cardiac CT findings, clinical, and biochemical assessments in predicting outcomes in coronary artery disease has not been fully explored. The Early Identification of Subclinical Atherosclerosis using NoninvasivE Imaging Research (EISNER) Study integrates the imaging (cardiac CT and nuclear cardiology), cardiac surgery, preventive cardiology, and basic cardiology aspects of CSMC programs to improve the outcomes for both the primary and secondary prevention of CAD.
  
  Principal Investigator: Daniel Berman, MD
  Study Contact: Johanna Kim, MPH (310) 423-4327
  Study Sponsor: The Eisner Foundation

• Study 1: CSMC Community (IRB# 3351)
  The primary purpose of this prospective, randomized study is to determine if a particular combination of assessments (medical history and risk factor information, clinical and biochemical tests, and a cardiac CT scan) can predict future clinical outcomes (e.g. progression of atherosclerosis, heart surgery) in patients who have had no symptoms of coronary artery disease or other heart disease. We are currently collecting followup data for the 2,000+ enrolled subjects.

• Study 2: Patients with Nuclear Cardiology Studies (IRB# 3974)
  The primary purpose of this study is to determine if the information from a coronary calcium CT scan adds value to the information from a nuclear cardiology study in helping physicians make medical decisions. We are currently collecting final followup data for the 1,000+ enrolled subjects.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Funded Projects

• Automatic Quantitative CT Imaging of Pericardial Fat: A Novel Ischemia Predictor
  Every year, 1 million people in the US will experience a heart attack or sudden cardiac death. A large percentage of these patients have no prior symptoms of any kind but suffer from silent heart disease (ischemia), which may cause a heart attack at any time. Currently there is no reliable screening method to identify people who may have silent heart disease and therefore are at risk of "heart attack". We seek to extract additional data from a non-invasive cardiac CT scan acquired for coronary calcium screening (commonly used in most imaging centers), which will better identify patients who are "vulnerable" to sudden heart attack. The purpose of this study is to achieve fully automatic, robust, quantitative measurement of pericardial fat from non-contrast cardiac CT images of the heart, and to evaluate the incremental predictive value of pericardial fat for cardiovascular risk assessment.
  
  Principal Investigator: Damini Dey, PhD
  Study Contact: Damini Dey, PhD (Damini.Dey@cshs.org)

Outcomes Research

• The Cardiac Imaging Research Databases serve to collect demographic, clinical, outcomes and scan data from patients coming to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for cardiac imaging (CT, MRI, PET) tests. The databases are used to perform research analyses, such as studying how to better determine which patients are at higher risk for adverse outcomes so that physicians can prescribe the best course of treatment. The databases also allow analyses to be performed in response to advances in the field, such as new technological developments and imaging pharmaceuticals.
  
  Principal Investigator: Daniel Berman, MD
  Study Contact: Nancy Zambrana (310) 423-3763

• Nuclear Cardiology Database (IRB# 1752)
• Cardiac CT Database (IRB# 3354)
• Cardiac MRI Database (IRB# 4317)

Clinical Studies

• PET Perfusion Study (IRB# 17284)
  A clinical study to acquire data for the development of a one-day rest/stress cardiac PET perfusion imaging protocol for a new generation PET perfusion tracer. The study is also being conducted to assess imaging parameters and image quality, safety of multiple doses, and diagnostic accuracy when scanning with this new agent.
  
  Principal Investigator: Daniel Berman, MD
  Study Contact: Nancy Zambrana (310) 423-3763

• FDG PET and CCTA Post Angioplasty (IRB# 16182)
  The purpose of this research study is to evaluate whether the combination of specialized cardiac positron emission tomography (PET) and coronary CT angiography can reliably identify areas of inflamed coronary plaque (the potentially harmful build-up of cholesterol and cells along artery walls) in patients. The majority of heart attacks appear to be caused by the sudden breakdown of inflamed coronary artery plaque. The ability to reliably detect such plaques would be a big step in helping physicians and patients prevent future heart attacks. This research study is designed to evaluate the computer software used to combine cardiac PET and CT scans in patients expected to have inflamed coronary plaque(s).
  
  Principal Investigator: Victor Cheng, MD
  Study Contact: Victor Cheng, MD (310) 423-4216

• Comparative Study of Adenosine Enhanced Dual Source CT vs SPECT Imaging (IRB# 10928/11143)
  The purpose of this study is to use a dual source multidetector CT with adenosine enhancement to assess both the blood flow and anatomy of your heart, while comparing the result to the standard Single Photon-Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) test, which examines blood flow but not anatomy. Examining blood flow together with anatomy in a single non-invasive test may prove to be a valuable tool for diagnosing and treating coronary artery disease.
  
  Principal Investigator: Daniel Berman, MD
  Study Contact: Balaji Tamarappoo, MD (310) 423-4216

• A Prospective, Multicenter Registry Study for Clinical Outcome in Subjects Undergoing Coronary CT Angiography (IRB# 16977)
  Non-invasive coronary artery imaging, specifically coronary CT angiography (CCTA), has undergone major advances in recent years. The ability to further confirm the predictive ability of CCTA to detect coronary artery disease would be a big step in helping physicians and patients prevent future heart attacks. The purpose of this study is to determine the predictive value of CCTA for heart disease related outcomes in subjects who clinically undergo CCTA as part of their medical care.
  
  Principal Investigator: Daniel Berman, MD
  Study Contact: Johanna Kim, MPH (310) 423-4327

• Ultra Low Dose Coronary Artery Calcium Screening (IRB# 14680)
  Coronary calcium screening is a well established method of measuring calcium build-up in the coronary arteries. Physicians always want to perform a diagnostic test using the least amount of radiation possible while still maintaining excellent diagnostic performance. The DSCT scanner has been proven to have excellent quality in measuring coronary calcium with a decrease in dose from conventional Coronary Calcium Scan cameras (multi-slice CT). Researchers in this study are trying to see if they can duplicate the same accuracy as the standard protocol coronary calcium scan using DSCT scanning with an ultra-low radiation DSCT scan.
  
  Principal Investigator: Daniel Berman, MD
  Study Contact: Johanna Kim, MPH (310) 423-4327

• Coronary CT for Systemic Triage of Acute Chest Pain Patients to Treatment (IRB# 11662)
  To compare the safety, diagnostic efficacy and efficiency of multi-slice CT to the standard care of treatment of low to intermediate risk acute chest pain patients in the Emergency Department.
  
  Principal Investigator: Daniel Berman, MD
  Study Contact: Nancy Zambrana (310) 423-3763