Cleerly’s AI software for noninvasive FFR estimates receives a Category 1 CPT code
Cleerly, a Denver-based healthcare technology company focused on using artificial intelligence (AI) to diagnose heart disease, has announced that its Cleerly ISCHEMIA software for the noninvasive evaluation of coronary CT angiogram (CCTA) exams can now be billed using the Category 1 CPT code 75580. CPT codes are assigned to a specific procedure or service, allowing physicians, patients, coders, payers and other stakeholders to remain on the same page when discussing treatment options.
Cleerly launched Cleerly ISCHEMIA in early 2024; it has already been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and it is available by prescription.
The American Medical Association officially describes the new CPT code as, “Noninvasive estimate of coronary fractional flow reserve (FFR) derived from augmentative software analysis of the data set from a coronary computed tomography angiography, with interpretation and report by a physician or other qualified healthcare professional.”
Image courtesy of Cleerly.
The company’s services were already associated with four Category III CPT codes: 0623T, 0624T, 0625T and 0626T.
“The Cleerly ISCHEMIA software provides noninvasive estimates of FFR values that help healthcare professionals make critical decisions in the management of patients with suspected coronary artery disease,” James P. Earls, MD, Cleerly’s chief medical officer, said in a statement. “Cleerly ISCHEMIA was purposely designed to output estimates of FFR values that are guideline-recommended by professional societies, and to allow comprehensive mapping of both anatomic and physiologic data for each and every coronary lesion across the entire vascular tree.”
Cleerly is one of several companies currently working on AI-powered, CT-based patient evaluations. Its approach is designed to focus on “measuring, characterizing, and tracking atherosclerosis instead of searching for less useful indirect markers of heart disease,” as explained by founder and CEO James K. Min, MD, in 2022. Min was known as a pioneer in cardiac CT and served as president of the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography before founding Cleerly in 2017.
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.