Cardio Flow Design has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its 4D Flow MRI blood flow analysis software.

The iTFlow software helps analyse blood flow through 4D Flow MRI data to improve diagnostic preciseness for patients with heart conditions and cardiovascular diseases.

The software enables assessment and blood flow analysis in cardiovascular surgery and radiology fields.

Using MRI data, users can perform their own blood flow analysis and visualisation.

iTFlow inventor Dr Itatani said: “We developed this software with the aim of enabling all physicians, regardless of their level of experience, to propose the most appropriate treatment for patients even with complicated anatomy and cardiac function by quantitatively evaluating blood flow.”

The iTFlow facilitates fluid dynamics visualisation in the heart and blood vessels in both 2D and 3D, without the support of contrast agents.

It also allows several quantitative assessments, including velocity, pathline, streamline, flow rate and other parameters.

According to the company, the combination of advanced algorithms and image analysis techniques supports healthcare professionals and physicians in the diagnosis and planning of treatments.

Cardio Flow Design company CEO Teruyasu Nishino said: “We are delighted this software has obtained FDA approval. We have been pursuing the concept of blood flow analysis with 4D flow MRI for many years and iTFlow encapsulates the essence of this concept.

“With this approval, we believe that healthcare professionals will be able to provide more accurate diagnoses and treatment plans for cardiovascular diseases, especially for children with congenital heart disease and will save many lives.”