Screening Women using magnetic rEsonance and Electronic Textiles, for HEART disease – SWEETHEART

INOCA (ischemia with non-obstructive coronary arteries) is a cardiovascular disease affecting primarily women, and its diagnosis is challenging. Coronarography is the reference examination, however it is invasive, ionizing, and costly. Stress cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) is a promising alternative, though the quality, comfort and robustness of the exam need to be improved.
The goal of SWEETHEART is the development of a wearable electrocardiogram (ECG) mapping device designed to leverage the potential of stress CMR. The device will allow a robust cardiorespiratory monitoring during the whole examination. Several technological breakthroughs will be addressed: design of high-sensitivity, flexible biosensors; design of quantitative, motion-robust and contrast-free MRI methods; methodology demonstrating the MRI safety of wearable devices.
The consortium comprises three academic teams with complementary expertise, in the design of electronic textiles (GEMTEX, Roubaix), in MR-compatible instrumentation and motion correction (IADI, Nancy), and in advanced CMR methods (LIRYC, Bordeaux), and two industrial partners. Epsidy (Nancy) develops MRI compatible instrumentation and associated tools for denoising and real-time analysis of signal, based on artificial intelligence. Healtis (Nancy) is an international expert in MRI safety (bench testing and simulation).
The expected results will demonstrate the clinical feasibility of the developed technological tools, and the relevance of a non-invasive, non-ionizing screening technique for INOCA patients which can be used for further research on human beings.