Heartflow launches new AI-powered staging tool for coronary plaque assessments
Heartflow had a busy four days at SCCT2026, the annual meeting of the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT). The company’s advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technologies were at the heart of multiple presentations, for example, and it officially launched a new staging tool based on total plaque volume (TPV) calculations.
Heartflow’s AI software turns coronary CT angiography (CCTA) images into personalized 3D models of the heart. With tools like Plaque Analysis and Roadmap Analysis, the company’s Heartflow One platform helps care teams explore, evaluate and manage a patient’s coronary health.
Heartflow technology was featured in eight different clinical studies presented at SCCT2026, providing an in-depth look at the cardiovascular health of more than 36,000 adult patients. DECIDE, for example, focused on registry data from nearly 12,000 symptomatic patients with zero coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores. These individuals would have typically been categorized as zero-risk patients, but researchers found that approximately one-half of the cohort actually did present with non-calcified plaques that were missed by the original CAC score.
“While coronary calcium scoring has been a helpful foundational tool, relying on calcium scoring alone leaves a diagnostic gap for clinicians, particularly regarding high-risk non-calcified plaque,” investigator Vincent L. Sorrell, MD, co-director of the Cardiovascular Research Priority Area at the Gill Heart and Vascular Institute at University of Kentucky HealthCare, said in a statement. “The DECIDE data demonstrate that Heartflow’s TPV-based staging unmasks important cardiovascular disease in over half of symptomatic patients who present with a calcium score of zero. This enhances our ability to accurately identify at-risk individuals and optimize preventive management based on a more precise understanding of their actual disease burden.”
Heartflow Plaque Staging. Image courtesy of Heartflow.
According to Heartflow, DECIDE and the other SCCT2026 presentations highlight the importance of using TPV to help manage heart patients. It was with these data in mind that the company launched Heartflow Plaque Staging, a staging tool that is now included with every Heartflow Plaque Analysis CCTA interpretation.
“Clinicians need confidence that a plaque measurement shift reflects true disease progression, not analytical variation,” Heartflow Chief Medical Officer Campbell Rogers, MD, said in the same statement. “Our studies show total plaque volume-based staging is both reproducible and consistent across scanner types, giving physicians the insights they need for longitudinal disease tracking and evidence-based treatment decisions.”
Michael has more than 19 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.