Safety and Feasibility Using a Fluid-Filled Wire to Avoid Hydrostatic Errors in Physiological Intracoronary...

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular physiology
• Medical device technology
• Interventional cardiology

Background:

• Hydrostatic pressure in coronary circulation can introduce systematic errors in pressure measurements.
• Conventional pressure wires are susceptible to these hydrostatic errors.
• Accurate coronary pressure measurement is crucial for diagnosing and managing coronary artery disease.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the Wirecath fluid-filled pressure wire.
• To assess the Wirecath wire's ability to eliminate hydrostatic pressure errors.
• To compare coronary pressure measurements obtained with the Wirecath wire versus a conventional sensor-tipped wire.

Main Methods:

• The Wirecath pressure wire was used in 45 patients undergoing invasive coronary angiography.
• Simultaneous measurements were performed with a conventional coronary pressure wire in 29 patients.
• Vertical height differences were measured to assess hydrostatic effects.

Main Results:

• No adverse events were reported with the Wirecath pressure wire.
• Mean Pd/Pa and FFR differed significantly between the two wire types initially.
• After correcting for hydrostatic effects, excellent correlation was observed between the fluid-filled and sensor-tipped wires (R=0.89 at rest, R=0.98 at hyperemia).

Conclusions:

• The fluid-filled Wirecath wire is a safe and effective tool for avoiding hydrostatic errors in coronary pressure measurements.
• This technology enhances the accuracy of fractional flow reserve (FFR) and other pressure-derived indices.
• The study supports the use of fluid-filled wires for more reliable invasive physiological assessment in cardiology.