--     Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging Inc. and Thermocore Medical Ltd. have announced that the companies have entered into a global development agreement for Thermocore's novel intracoronary thermographic catheter system and related platform technology.

Thermocore's proprietary platform technology and its intracoronary thermographic catheter system is designed to detect vulnerable plaque by mapping temperature variations inside the coronary arteries.

The development and rupture of vulnerable or unstable plaque in the coronary arteries is the prime cause of heart attack and sudden cardiac death. Comprised of deposits of fat, calcium and other substances in the inner lining of the arteries, vulnerable plaque also contains inflammatory cells which may be associated with local increases in temperature relative to normal areas of the vessel wall. When vulnerable plaque ruptures, it can trigger the formation of thrombi which, in turn, can obstruct blood flow to the heart muscle and lead to a heart attack or sudden cardiac death.

Thermocore's novel technology platform could represent an important advance in the identification and characterization of vulnerable plaque in the coronary arteries.

The temperature catheter system provides a thermal imaging map of the interior of the coronary arteries by incorporating a series of sensitive temperature sensors into the distal end of the catheter system.

Mapping of these temperature differentials could potentially help identify and localize vulnerable plaque before it ruptures and creates blood clots that can lead to heart attack. Clinical trials will be initially aimed at defining the prognostic clinical value of identifying plaque with an elevated temperature. Subsequent clinical studies will be required to assess whether intervention based upon such identification of vulnerable plaque has a favorable effect on clinical outcomes.

(19/11/04)