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Technology in vascular care enhances treatment, reduces the disease burden, and offers personalized, accessible options that improve patient quality of life worldwide.
Fremont, CA: Technology has revolutionized vascular care over the last few years with tools and techniques allowing rapid and accurate diagnosis and treatment. Since millions of patients are affected by conditions in vascular health, such as peripheral artery disease, aneurysms, and blood clots, treatment needs to be responsive to prevent severe complications. Advances in imaging, minimally invasive procedures, and remote monitoring have allowed for more proactive, personalized, and effective vascular care. New, state-of-the-art imaging modalities include CT angiography, Doppler ultrasound, and MR angiography. These modalities allow the specialist to identify obstructions, anomalies, or injuries in the blood vessels due to the high resolution obtained through the imaging. With earlier diagnosis comes timely intervention, thus preventing the further progression of the disease. For example, high-resolution imaging can detect plaque formation in a patient with peripheral artery disease, averting complications like limb amputation. Real-time imaging also helps plan interventions. Hence, the interventions become much quicker and less invasive for surgeons. Minimally invasive approaches like angioplasty, stenting, and endovascular aneurysm repair have transformed vascular care in the sense of their treatment methodologies with an efficiently reduced recovery period and minimum complications. All these interventions have been carried out by using catheter-based technologies. Avoiding extensive incisions has been less painful, with fewer hospital days and rapid recoveries. It will improve not only patient outcomes but also the effectiveness of vascular health services. An inflatable balloon of a small size is placed inside the blocked artery, and a stent after the inflation keeps the artery open. Remote monitoring and wearable devices are changing vascular care as these enable doctors to monitor a patient's vital signs in real-time and sense the early warning signs of any vascular disease. Wearable devices such as smartwatches or heart monitors send real-time data back to healthcare providers for early detection of possible problems before becoming critical. Patients with vascular conditions or at risk can connect remotely with their care team even when not hospitalized. This reduces emergency room use when interventions can be acted upon faster. Better diagnostic precision and the possibility of predicting through AI and machine learning will improve vascular care. How so? AI algorithms scan voluminous images and patient records to identify patterns long before aneurysms or arterial blockages build up so that radiologists can diagnose better. Predictive analytics, powered by machine learning, can identify high-risk patients based on age, lifestyle, and genetic predisposition. Early detection of such patients would enable healthcare providers to prevent such sudden life-threatening events by implementing preventive measures and close monitoring of vascular health. Technology in vascular care has also enabled patient engagement and education, allowing patients to take charge of their health. Apps, online platforms, and telemedicine would allow patients to acquire information about their vascular health and resources on lifestyle adjustments and treatment options. This increased patient involvement in managing their conditions can lead to adherence to prescribed therapies, including drugs, exercise, or diet, which are vital in managing vascular conditions.
