World Premiere: AI Supports Heart Catheter Treatments

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World Premiere: AI Supports Heart Catheter Treatments

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On March 30, 2026, Universitätsmedizin Frankfurt became the world's first clinical site to deploy Abbott's Ultreon 3.0 AI-powered intravascular imaging platform in routine percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), marking the global clinical premiere of the CE-marked software platform for heart catheter procedures. Abbott's Ultreon 3.0 platform unifies high-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging with real-time physiological blood-flow analysis (FFR-OCT) in a single integrated system. For the first time, interventional cardiologists can visualize detailed 3D coronary artery structure and quantify the functional impact of stenoses from a single pullback, eliminating the need for additional invasive pressure-wire measurements. The AI layer automatically identifies relevant vessel structures—calcifications, lipid deposits, lesion morphology—and assists with therapy planning decisions such as optimal stent length, position, and expansion. "Der Einsatz von Ultreon 3.0 ist ein bedeutender Schritt für unsere Patientenversorgung. Mit dieser Technologie können wir gefäßbezogene Erkrankungen des Herzens noch präziser und besser diagnostizieren und behandeln – in Echtzeit und ohne zusätzliche invasive Messungen," explained Prof. Dr. David M. Leistner, Director of Cardiology at Universitätsmedizin Frankfurt's Heart and Vascular Center, who led the first clinical deployment. The Frankfurt site is notable as the location of the world's second-ever coronary intervention 40 years ago. Technically, Ultreon 3.0 is built on Abbott's Dragonfly OpStar imaging catheter and OPTIS integrated system, with the AI inference engine running native on the hardware for sub-second analysis. The platform reduces contrast-media use by 30-50% versus conventional angiography, a material benefit for patients with impaired kidney function. International studies show that intravascular imaging changes treatment strategy in up to 50% of cases. The Frankfurt deployment represents a single-center premiere; broader European rollout will follow. Future direction per Abbott's cardiovascular leadership: expanding AI-derived quantitative assessment of plaque vulnerability and integrating Ultreon-derived metrics into structural heart procedure planning for TAVR and Mitraclip workflows.