ABILENE, Texas — Participants for a clinical trial (TRANSFORM) are being enrolled by Hendrick Health.
The trial compares a stage-based treatment of patients with coronary artery disease or who are at risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, based on a computer tomography angiography (CCTA) exam with a risk-factored based treatment, which is the standard of care.
Hendrick is one of 47 sites conducting the research across the United States, Europe and Japan. Patients accepted into the randomized clinical trial will undergo a CCTA exam to categorize their atherosclerosis severity. Scan results will be used to randomize the patients into the type of treatment they receive.
“The TRANSFORM trial will fundamentally change our understanding of the development of coronary artery disease and how it responds to medical treatments,” Hendrick Health cardiologist and principal investigator for the Hendrick study site, Dr. Ren Zhang, said. “It is the first large-scale study using AI technology to be able to visualize and quantify plaque burden for patients with coronary artery disease and its progression. With its AI technology, we will be able to visualize how medical therapies and interventions change or improve atherosclerosis of coronary arteries, and improve not only patients’ lives, but also the quality of their lives.”
This clinical trial program will have a sponsor that helps in coordinating the care and treatment approach with Hendricks research and cardiology teams and provides patients with education of the trial and treatments, medical therapy and other study support.
For a patient to qualify, they must be:
- Men over the age of 55 with Type 2 diabetes mellitus, prediabetes or metabolic syndrome and no known symptomatic cardiovascular disease; or
- Women over the age of 65 with Type 2 diabetes mellitus, prediabetes or metabolic syndrome and no known symptomatic cardiovascular disease; and
- Have a reliable device for communication with the cardiologist-led team managing their treatment.
Because monitoring is a vital part of the study, patients will be followed for up to five years.
“The trial has potential to change the guidelines for how we diagnose coronary artery disease at earlier stages and treat the patient with more precise therapy,” Zhang said.
For enrollment eligibility, contact the Hendrick Center for Research at research@hendrickhealth.org or 325-670-7724.
