Non-invasive Optimal Vessel Analysis (NOVA)

Non-invasive optimal vessel analysis (NOVA) from VasSol, Inc. is the first technology to allow physicians to quantify blood flow in vessels non-invasively. NOVA takes the images from a magnetic resonance scan and creates a three-dimensional view of the patient's vascular tree.

According to Demetrius Lopes, M.D., Director of the vascular program at CINN and one of the leading neurosurgeons in the country in diagnosing and treating neurovascular disease, NOVA allows surgeons to map the major blood vessels in the brain, as well as many of the smaller, connecting branches, and to ascertain actual flow rates. This information is used to diagnose neurovascular disease and take appropriate action to prevent the onset of stroke, or rupture of an aneurysm, for example.

CINN is one of the initial centers in the country to offer NOVA to help diagnose and treat stroke and cerebrovascular disease.

Those physicians who have used NOVA point out that the software is helping to improve the diagnosis and treatment of vascular disease by providing additional information not available through any other current diagnostic test. In some cases, NOVA may also provide an alternative to more invasive tests. After a surgical intervention, many patients undergo a catheter angiogram, a test that requires both injection of contrast dye and radiation exposure. With the availability of NOVA, some patients may only need to have a non-invasive MRI.