HeartFlow has named former Johnson & Johnson chairman and chief executive officer William C Weldon as a new member of its board of directors. Weldon joins the company’s board following the US Food and Administration de novo clearance of its non-invasive FFRCT technology for coronary artery disease.
“Bill’s long-time healthcare industry leadership, and unrivalled depth of knowledge and experience in the field, will provide substantial strategic guidance as we look to provide physicians and patients with an important new tool for coronary artery disease management,” says John H Stevens, chairman and chief executive officer of HeartFlow.
“Treatment alternatives for coronary artery disease have significantly improved over recent years, but current diagnostic tests leave considerable room for improvement, in both their accuracy and ability to inform the right next step for each patient,” Weldon explains. “HeartFlow is well positioned to address this unmet need, while meeting its goal of improving outcomes, reducing costs and offering a better patient experience.”
Non-invasive tests are widely used as a first-line method to diagnose coronary artery disease, but studies have shown a need to improve their accuracy. A study conducted by Duke University investigators and published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that fewer than 38% of patients who underwent elective invasive cardiac catheterisation and angiography were found to have obstructive coronary artery lesions, even though non-invasive testing had been performed on 84% of those patients.
