HAMPSHIRE Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has adopted a new technology which helps coronary heart disease to be diagnosed in just hours.

The trust, which runs Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, as well as the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester and Andover War Memorial Hospital, worked closely with Wessex Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) to prepare the innovation for its use.

The non-invasive diagnostic tool, called HeartFlow Analysis, turns a CT scan of the heart into a 3D image that helps clinicians identify if there is disease and whether treatment or surgery is required. It reduces the need for unnecessary invasive testing and improves patient quality of life.

The scan takes just 20 minutes to complete, with results returning on average in around six hours for the rendered 3D image.

Joe Sladen, associate director of national programmes at the Wessex AHSN worked to solve any initial problems and aided the trust in adopting and implementing the technology, and to also link up with other sites which were already using the technology to share learning.

Dr Peter Chapman, consultant radiologist at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Coronary heart disease is a common type of heart disease and using HeartFlow will help us prevent unnecessary invasive procedures and allow us to put patients on the best treatment pathway for their individual needs much quicker.

"We are so grateful for the opportunity provided by Wessex AHSN to improve cardiac services at the trust.”

Nicola Bent, deputy chief executive at Wessex Academic Health Science Network, added: “At the AHSN, we support the local NHS to use new innovations which improve patient care and outcomes.

“HeartFlow is a perfect example of one of these innovations and we’re thrilled to see it being put to such great use by our colleagues at Hampshire Hospitals.”

Gina McDonald Main, vice president of government affairs at HeartFlow, said: “We appreciate the dedication and work of the team at Hampshire Hospitals to adopt HeartFlow, which has helped to streamline the diagnostic process for patients with coronary heart disease.

“This has been critically important during the COVID pandemic as use of HeartFlow has helped physicians accurately identify those patients who can be treated with medication and out of the hospital, thereby reducing patient time in hospitals and lowering the potential risk of exposure to the virus.”

In addition to the service already being available at Basingstoke and Winchester, Hampshire Hospitals is also now running a cardiac CT service at its hospital in Andover and plans to build and improve the service further to make the best care accessible to the people of Andover.