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MedTech technological innovations for better management of complex childhood heart disease
With 25 years of experience in caring for children with heart disease in underprivileged countries and a staff of renowned surgeons and cardiopediatricians, Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque is launching its SMART PROJECTS programme. The objective of this programme is to provide ways of progressing in the care of children with complex heart diseases.
Each year, these complex cardiopathies represent approximately 25% of cases, i.e. 75 children. Most of these children could not be diagnosed before their arrival in France, so it seems necessary to explore all technological opportunities to reduce the risk of misdiagnosis before their arrival in France.
3D modelling of children's hearts
Online medical image analysis laboratory, the startup Visible Patient provides its software. From a CT scan performed in the country, the image is transformed into a perfect 3D visualisation of the patient's internal anatomy. It thus allows :
A test phase with 21 models of a rare but serious complex heart disease: APSO Open Septum Pulmonary Atresia
APSO is an easy to diagnose condition: a cyanotic child, the presence of a normal-sized heart on the X-ray, clear lungs and no heart murmur. Echo radiography confirms the diagnosis, but this examination does not give a clear picture of the morphology and size of the pulmonary branches, which is essential for the prognosis. Until now, only angiography carried out during cardiac catheterisation has provided the answer. Today, with the support of a quality scanner, 3D modelling provides essential information on the morphology of the pulmonary vascularisation.
3D modelling of the pulmonary artery tree is valuable when investigating a congenital heart defect. During the test phase, which took place between July 2021 and March 2022, VisiblePatient carried out 21 3D models for Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque , which made it possible to determine whether the child was operable or not and to plan the surgical procedure with precision and reflection.
10 children were managed, either for repair when the branches were deemed sufficient to accept full cardiac output once the IVC was closed, or for palliation if a branch was accessible and the child was extremely cyanotic.
For 11 children, surgery was not a solution because of absent or too hypoplastic pulmonary branches.
We have developed the "Smart Projects" program, which is part of our goal to constantly improve the child's care pathway. With this program, we are seeking to make progress in diagnosis using the latest Medtech innovations. The ultimate goal is to improve the management of complex heart diseases.
The "5/5 Training" is a mobile-learning application designed to train the world's doctors in cardiopediatrics. Launched in March 2020 by Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque, the application is enjoying growing success and has just been awarded a prize at the Mobile Learning Awards 2021 organised by Teach on Mars.
Doctor Patient Mukola is a general practitioner in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A few months ago, he discovered and assiduously follows the Formation
