CardioHealth Station for Ultrasound Measurement of Intima-Media Thickness Gets FDA OK

CardioNexus, a Houston, Texas firm that Panasonic has invested in to help the electronics giant enter the diagnostics market, has received FDA approval for its CardioHealth Station. The ultrasound system is designed to assess the state of the plaque within the carotid artery as an indicator of overall cardiovascular health. The Panasonic-branded device was unveiled last November at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Chicago.

The CardioHealth® Station has a built-in portable ultrasound system optimized to perform a non-invasive examination of the carotid arteries. It provides an automated real-time measurement of the intima-media thickness (IMT) and allows the user to search for arterial plaques. Moreover, the touch-screen keyboard allows the user to input various parameters related to traditional cardiovascular risk factors. A built in calculator provides risk scores commonly used in a variety of medical environments (Framingham Risk Score, PROCAM Health Check Score, Reynolds Risk Score, Risk score based on the SCORE Project). This information is supplemented with an IMT measurement of the artery to generate a comprehensive report to aid the physician in assessing cardiovascular risk.