What You Should Know:
– Biograph, a preventive health and diagnostics clinic, has announced a partnership with Caristo Diagnostics to become the first U.S. clinic to study a novel AI-based preventive cardiac marker in asymptomatic patients.
– The marker detects coronary artery inflammation using cardiac CT scans. This study will be available exclusively to Biograph’s Black Tier members who are clinically eligible.
Why Early Inflammation Detection is a Breakthrough
Current clinical pathways often fail to identify high-risk patients because they miss inflammatory disease activity and rely only on visible plaque assessment. However, studies show that twice as many fatal and non-fatal cardiac events occur in patients without obstructive plaque on CCTA.
- CaRi-Heart® Technology: Caristo’s CaRi-Heart® technology is a major breakthrough because it quantifies “invisible” coronary inflammation on cardiac CT scans, rather than waiting for patients to develop visible plaque.
- Predictive Power: CaRi-Heart is able to identify these high-risk patients up to 10 years in advance, even in the absence of visible plaque.
Study Design and Participant Experience
Caristo selected Biograph as its first U.S. longevity-focused partner due to the clinic’s preventive focus, data-driven approach, and advanced imaging capabilities. The initial phase of the study will enroll 100 of Biograph’s Black Tier members, beginning in October.
Eligible participants will complete a health history form and consultation before imaging. Study participants will receive access to Caristo’s proprietary CaRi-Heart® and CaRi-Plaque™ technologies to evaluate whether coronary inflammation alongside plaque characterization can detect early heart disease. Findings are expected to corroborate Caristo’s existing studies.
“Early detection of inflammation is crucial, as it often precedes plaque buildup and provides a critical window for preventing disease,” said Dr. Michael Doney, Executive Medical Director of Biograph. “By engaging in such a partnership with Caristo, we’re better suited to position our members at the forefront of cardiac diagnostics, providing research access to a technology not yet broadly available in the U.S.”
