SingLIVE Celebrates 35 Years Of Pioneering Heart Care With New Technologies And Asia Firsts

Singapore, 22 January 2026 – Singapore LIVE (SingLIVE), Asia-Pacific’s key platform for showcasing advances in interventional cardiology, celebrates its 35th anniversary. Taking place from 22 to 24 January 2026 at Raffles City Convention Centre, SingLIVE 2026 will bring together more than 1300 medical professionals from 33 countries for live demonstrations, discussions on breakthrough innovations and immersive training sessions.

Over the decades, the conference has played a pivotal role in elevating the skills, techniques and clinical judgement of cardiologists across the region, accelerating the adoption of best practices that directly improve patient outcomes.

Accelerating the Adoption of New Devices and Best Practices: Using Hertz Contact Stress to Unblock Arteries More Safely

SingLIVE has long served as a key launchpad for new treatment methods and best practices in interventional cardiology. This year, a live case demonstration will feature LithiX Hertz Contact Intravascular Lithotripsy (HC IVL), an innovation tool designed to help treat patients with calcified (‘hardened’) heart artery disease more safely and effectively.

Patients with heart artery disease are commonly treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to restore blood flow to blocked arteries. However, calcium deposits in the arteries can make these blockages difficult to open and hinder proper stent placement. In such cases, operators may need to use drills, high-pressure or cutting balloons to break the calcium buildup before expanding the stent. Because of these challenges, patients with heavily calcified arteries generally experience poorer outcomes.

Studies show many older heart patients have substantial calcium buildup in their heart arteries^1,2, highlighting the need for improved tools and treatment approaches.

Performing over 2,000 PCI procedures annually, NHCS became the first in Singapore to successfully use the LithiX device in 2025. LithiX is an Intravascular Lithotripsy balloon featuring numerous tiny stainless steel metal hemispheres on its surface. Using Hertz Contact Stress amplification force to target and break down calcium deposits at low pressure³, LithiX HC IVL breaks hardened calcium whilst leaving the artery wall unharmed, enabling proper stent expansion to restore blood flow. The device also functions without the need for an external power source.

"The LithiX HC IVL balloon marks a meaningful step forward in treating heavily calcified arteries. Its mechanical lithotripsy technology provides an alternative way of cracking the calcified lesion, offering a user-friendly and potentially safer treatment option for patients. Through live demonstrations at SingLIVE, we can share expertise with cardiologists on new techniques and transform how we manage complex coronary conditions in the region," said Clin Associate Professor Lim Soo Teik, Advisory Course Co-Director, SingLIVE. Assoc Prof Lim is also Senior Consultant, Department of Cardiology, and Advisor, Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory, NHCS.

Advancing Cardiac Interventional Expertise Across Asia: Transforming Care Through Innovation

Since its founding in 1989, SingLIVE has introduced numerous groundbreaking cardiovascular technologies to Asia. These include the first coronary stent implantation (1991), the region's first drug-eluting stent procedure (2002), Asia's first Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation⁴ (2009), MitraClip⁵ (2011) and PASCAL⁶ (2025) for the treatment of mitral regurgitation; TricValve® and TriClipTM ⁷ (2022) for tricuspid regurgitation; and Electrosurgery⁸ (2025).

“SingLIVE's strength lies in its ability to translate complex procedures into practical knowledge that cardiologists can confidently apply in their own practice. Having been part of its journey since the earliest days, from the first coronary stent implantations to today's sophisticated interventions, we continue to bridge the gap between innovation and clinical practice, ensuring that breakthrough technologies reach patients who need them most,” Clin Professor Koh Tian Hai, Course Director, SingLIVE, and Emeritus Consultant, Department of Cardiology, NHCS.

Leading Global Innovation and Knowledge Transfer

Entering its 35th year and beyond, NHCS continues to anchor SingLIVE with groundbreaking percutaneous procedures, including those for complex, non-coronary conditions where balloon and stent technologies can offer viable, less invasive alternatives to surgery.

For the first time in its history, SingLIVE is collaborating with two renowned healthcare institutions, Mayo Clinic from the United States of America (USA) and Fuwai Hospital from China, to provide firsthand insights through live demonstrations of interventional procedures performed directly within these leading centres. This new dimension not only enriches the educational value of SingLIVE but also reinforces Singapore’s position as a leading hub for cardiovascular care and knowledge exchange.

“As our region faces demographic shifts such as ageing populations and rising cardiovascular disease, SingLIVE plays a critical role in upskilling the cardiology workforce and sharing the latest procedural advances. Through partnerships with world-class healthcare leaders, we remain committed to elevating the quality, impact, and relevance of our programme to address real-world challenges. Our vision is clear: to empower healthcare professionals in Singapore and beyond, with knowledge and skills that save lives,” said Clin Professor Yeo Khung Keong, Course Director, SingLIVE, and Chief Executive Officer, NHCS.

Professor Yeo and Professor Koh are course directors of SingLIVE 2026.

References:

1. Coronary Calcification and the Risk of Heart Failure in the Elderly: The Rotterdam Study - ScienceDirect

2. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7891872/

3. LithiX HC-IVL | Advanced Intravascular Lithotripsy for Calcified Coronary Lesions - Elixir Medical

4. Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) – An alternative treatment aortic stenosis | SingHealth

5. NHCS successfully performs Asia's 1st MitraClip procedure for patients with heart valve problems

6. National Heart Centre Singapore Pioneers Advanced Heart Valve Repair In Southeast Asia With New Minimally Invasive Treatment

7. New Minimally Invasive Treatments Offered In NHCS Offer Hope For Patients With Severe Heart Valve Disease | NHCS

8. National Heart Centre Singapore Sets The Stage To Advance Cardiac Care At Singapore Live 2025: Asia’s Premier Conference Showcasing Cutting-Edge Interventional Technologies