Amongst several heart diseases, Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is a leading cause of death and disability world-wide. It is said to be the largest killer in the US, causing around 450,000 deaths annually. It results from atherosclerosis in one or more of the coronary arteries, in simpler terms hardening or clogging of arteries that supply blood to the heart, leading to accumulation of plaque on the arteries walls and, eventually, to obstruction to blood flow.
Typically, the patients at risk for obstructive CAD are referred to so-called functional tests such as ECG, Echo or SPECT (single-photon emission computed tomography) stress test, and if necessary, by invasive diagnostic catheterization and Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) or Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CBAG). However, according to the American Heart Association data, as well as large scale studies, over 50% of the diagnostic catheterizations in the US end up with negative results – no significant obstruction. Additionally, diagnostic catheterizations are invasive procedures that involve pain, fairly high radiation dosage, hospitalization, certain risk and cost to the health system. Therefore, there is a need for another non-invasive, low dose, efficient, and accurate CAD diagnostics.
Arineta Ltd. is an Israeli company that develops and produces innovative cardiovascular imaging solutions. Its flagship product, CardioGrapheTM, is the world’s first dedicated single-heartbeat, whole heart cardiac CT scanner, based on the company’s proprietary Stereo CT® technology. CardioGraphe brings an effective non-invasive solution for diagnostics of CAD. Arineta aims to be a company that improves the outcomes for patients world-wide through better and more advanced healthcare pathways.
Located in the Caesarea Industrial Park, Caesarea, Israel, Arineta is a part of a long tradition of medical imaging innovation that began in Israel in the 1970s. Among Arineta’s scientists are the inventors of the multi-slice spiral CT technology, the cornerstone of CT imaging, and several other key technologies.
The Success Safari
Established in late 2006, Arineta started as a small team of engineers and scientists investigating concepts for a new solution for accurate and reliable CAD diagnosis. Until the introduction of CardioGraphe by Arineta and GE, there were no dedicated cardiac CT scanners in the market. Development of the CardioGraphe started in 2012 and by 2016 the product was undergoing clinical evaluation.
The CardioGraphe clinical results have shown that a whole-heart, single-beat, special-purpose cardiovascular scanner greatly improves clinical outcomes. Crisp and accurate 3D images of the heart and the coronary arteries are obtained routinely in a safe, painless, non-invasive procedure within minutes. In particular, CardioGraphe provides diagnostic quality results also on hard-to-do patients with highly calcified coronaries, high or unstable heart rate and obese patients, which other scanners cannot scan successfully. The scanner is less costly than other similar performance scanners, can fit in a smaller space and has high throughput.
Based on these successful results, the product was then submitted for regulatory clearance and gained permission for marketing in the US, Europe, China, and other countries. During 2017-2018 the company established its manufacturing facility and started serial production of CardioGraphe. Today, CardioGraphe is distributed globally in cooperation with GE Healthcare.
A Revolutionary Product
CardioGrapheTM is the first and only dedicated cardiovascular CT imager designed to provide comprehensive clinical information for diagnosis and therapy planning. The product is optimized for imaging the entire heart and cardiovascular system at high resolution and excellent motion freeze with 140 mm coverage at a rotation speed of 0.24 sec per rotation. CardioGraphe uses a lower radiation dose than whole-body CT scanners. Further, the imaging is based on a single heartbeat as well as the fast speed of the scan that reduces contrast volumes and the need for administration of beta blockers.
The proprietary Arineta design includes:
- Unique Stereo CT® technology – Two overlapping x-ray beams rotate around the patient in parallel trajectories, achieving excellent image quality and wide z-axis coverage with no need for two detectors.
- Focused field-of-view (FOV) – CardioGraphe’s focused FOV generates high-resolution images of the area of interest, while highly reducing radiation dose to peripheral anatomies compared to whole-body CT systems.
- Advanced iterative reconstruction technology combined with Arineta’s unique model based adaptive filtering reduces noise and improves low-contrast detectability even at low signal levels.
- Ultra-short gantry geometry that makes efficient use of the x-ray sources, allows fast rotation and reduces footprint.
Multiple Applications of CardioGraphe:
- One-beat, high-definition, motion-free coronary images at any heart rate.
- Provides high quality data for optional FFRCT
- Comprehensive cardiac assessment for every patient including coronaries, structure, and Left ventricle function assessment.
- Peripheral vascular imaging, from Circle of Willis, carotids to aorta, main pulmonary, renal, to femoral arteries.
- TAVR, Mitral, LAA, and other procedure planning with dedicated protocols.
An Adept Leader
Dr. Ehud Dafni, the Co-founder and CEO of Arineta, has a strong background in medical imaging. He has extensive experience in the field of computed tomography, where he co-invented multi-slice spiral CT, multi-source spiral CT, adaptive dose modulation, Stereo CT and focused Field of View with graded resolution detector. Before founding Arineta, Dr. Dafni served as the vice president for business development at CMT Medical Technologies and CEO of CardioWatch Ltd. Previously, he worked at Philips Medical Systems in Israel and the US, at Picker International/Marconi Medical Systems, Cleveland, Ohio, and at Elscint Ltd., Haifa, Israel. He was also a faculty member at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel, and at the University of Rochester, NY.
With such vast experience and rich skill set, Dr. Dafni has led Arineta impressively to greater heights of success and continues to do so. “Arineta is proud to provide the CardioGraphe, the world’s first cardiac dedicated CT imaging system. Our goal is to deliver earlier, safer and more accurate non-invasive diagnosis of heart diseases for millions of patients,” he asserts.
Towards a Bigger Tomorrow
Arineta does not plan on stopping at its first product. While receiving feedback from users and responding with enhancements, the company develops additional products in the cardiovascular imaging space. It intends to remain a leading provider of innovative medical imaging products. Believing in the numerous capabilities that Artificial Intelligence has to offer to the aspects of medical imaging, Arineta seeks to use AI in signal processing, image processing and diagnostic support applications. Additionally, it focuses on development of more complex, iterative, and adaptive image reconstruction algorithms for faster workflow, better image quality, and reduced radiation dose.
