Cardiovascular software developer HeartFlow said that the Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) Association has provided a positive healthcare evidence review of its fractional flow reserve CT (FFR-CT) analysis technology.
The review, published on the association's Evidence Street health technology assessment platform, determined that FFR-CT provides a meaningful improvement in net health outcomes when used to guide the care of patients with stable chest pain who are at an intermediate risk of coronary artery disease and are being considered for invasive coronary angiography.
HeartFlow said the 19-page Evidence Street report concluded that coronary CT angiography (CCTA) "with a selective FFR-CT strategy would likely lead to changes in management that would be expected to improve health outcomes by further limiting unnecessary ICA (invasive coronary angiography) testing."
The FFR-CT technology uses deep learning to create a 3D model of a patient's arteries based on his or her CCTA study. Computer algorithms then simulate blood flow to help clinicians assess the effect of blockages in the arteries, according to HeartFlow.
![Images show the pectoralis muscles of a healthy male individual who never smoked (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; body mass index [BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared], 28.4; number of cigarette pack-years, 0; forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1], 97.6% predicted; FEV1: forced vital capacity [FVC] ratio, 0.71; pectoralis muscle area [PMA], 59.4 cm2; pectoralis muscle volume [PMV], 764 cm3) and a male individual with a smoking history and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; BMI, 27.5; number of cigarette pack-years, 43.2, FEV1, 48% predicted; FEV1:FVC, 0.56; PMA, 35 cm2; PMV, 480.8 cm3) from the Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung Disease (i.e., CanCOLD) study. The CT image is shown in the axial plane. The PMV is automatically extracted using the developed deep learning model and overlayed onto the lungs for visual clarity.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/03/genkin.25LqljVF0y.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=focalpoint&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
