Heart-Aorta Atlas project: €1.5M grant from the France 2030 plan
With the Heart and Aorta Atlas project, the ICAN IHU aims to create a reference Atlas of human 4D cardiac imaging with strong industrial appeal, to fill an information gap on a national scale.
The objective of this project is to help economic players in the medical imaging, pharmaceutical, medical device and digital simulation industries to design new approaches for cardiovascular health.
Promoted by INSERM, the project is supported by the French government and the Ile-de-France region through a 1.5 million euro grant obtained as part of the “SESAME Filières” France 2030 call for projects.
SESAME aid, support for scientific competitiveness in Paris Region
To strengthen the skills of the Ile-de-France scientific ecosystem, the Ile-de-France region is setting up the SESAME “Scientific and Technological Facilities and Platforms” program, which is part of the regionalized Avenir Investment Program (SESAME filière PIA).
- The objective: supporting the development of research laboratories through innovative projects and original experimental devices, in order to structure centers of scientific excellence in Île-de-France,
- Beneficiaries:non-profit research or higher education institutions (public or private) located in the Paris Region.
Within the framework of this call for projects “SESAME Filières”, the IHU ICAN obtained a grant of 1.5 million euros for the creation of an interoperable and multidisciplinary infrastructure in hemodynamic cardiovascular imaging with strong industrial appeal: the Heart Aorta Atlas.
The Heart & Aorta Atlas project, a response to an urgent need for knowledge
Numerous data converge today to make us aware that the mechanisms of aging, pathophysiological, cardiovascular and metabolic begin earlier in life than previously anticipated. From the age of 40 onwards, certain degenerative, oncogenic and inflammatory processes begin to manifest themselves.
Medical imaging has a key role in the detection, evaluation, and management of patients, but the study of these subclinical multi-organ alterations is very limited. Indeed, most large international cohorts recruit subjects over this age.
To address this urgent issue, the ICAN UHI plans to create a large biomedical imaging database linked to the national cohort CONSTANCES (INSERM).
What are the objectives of the Heart Aorta Atlas project?
The imaging data collected will be unique in that it will combine analysis of the structure and function of the heart, vessels and liver at a scale not currently available and through non-invasive examinations.
The main objectives are to:
- To establish the values of new imaging biomarkers in an asymptomatic French population according to sex, age and risk profile based on existing data in the CONSTANCES cohort,
- Understanding the origin of diseases and their early detection at a sub-clinical stage, the determination of new individual cardiovascular and metabolic risk profiles, the constitution of a reference multimodal imaging cohort for research on frequent and rare diseases.
What assets for the industrial ecosystem?
Thanks to this work, the Heart-Aorta Atlas project will have a strong added value for the industrial ecosystem, by offering :
- The creation of a unique pole of partnership excellence in Ile-de-France, around a structured and interoperable bank of labelled images, software and validated cardiovascular biomarkers,
- The availability of advanced imaging including anatomical, functional but also hemodynamic evaluation of the heart and aorta in population.
This catalog of expert imaging data will integrate raw images, post-processed images, quantitative measurements and medical readings, complemented by analysis software.
The service offer(clinical validation, software test benches, medical device design assistance, digital twins…) is aimed at manufacturers in the following economic sectors:
- Pharmaceutical industry,
- Medical imaging industry,
- Medical devices sector,
- Digital simulation sector,
The actors involved in the Heart-Aorta Atlas project
Grâce à ses liens avec des pôles de compétitivité comme Medicen et Cap Digital, le projet Atlas Cœur Aorte est porteur d’une empreinte territoriale forte.
Au niveau de l’expertise scientifique, il implique l’excellence des acteurs suivants :
- Pr Alban REDHEUIL, porteur du projet, Professeur des Universités – Praticien des Hôpitaux. Cardioradiologue, Responsable de l’imagerie cardiovasculaire et thoracique ICT Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, APHP.SU, Responsable médical du plateau de recherche imagerie de la Fondation pour l’Innovation en Cardiométabolisme et Nutrition (IHU ICAN)
- Mme Nadjia KACHENOURA, DR Laboratoire d’Imagerie Biomédicale INSERM/CNRS/SU/IHU ICAN
- Mme Khaoula BOUAZIZI, IR LIB Imaging IHU ICAN
- Mme Louise MEYFROIT, Chef de projet dédié Imagerie IHU ICAN
- Pr Ariel COHEN, Service de Cardiologie, Hôpital Saint Antoine, APHP, Sorbonne Université IHU ICAN
- Dr Laurie SOULAT-DUFOUR, Service de Cardiologie, Hôpital Saint Antoine, APHP, Sorbonne Université IHU ICAN
