Echocardiographic imaging is a critical element of cardiovascular research. It allows safe, accessible, affordable and widely available non-invasive assessment of cardiac structure, function, and hemodynamics, thus providing essential data on mechanisms of disease, safety and efficacy of drugs and devices, as well as therapeutic benefit.
In clinical trials, echocardiography is used to assess enrollment eligibility, provide surrogate endpoints, and determine optimal patterns of clinical surveillance. However, the value of this information is highly dependent on the quality of imaging, data analysis, and incorporation of results into overall trial analysis. Core lab interpretations reduce variability and enhance the precision of study results1-3. Improved accuracy may allow studies with a smaller sample size and improved trial efficiency. Indeed, the improvements in accuracy may be so significant as to alter the outcome of a trial1. Further, the echo core laboratory bridges preclinical and clinical groups, allowing synergism and translation of findings from preclinical models to human disease.
The Echocardiography Core Lab ensures that the echocardiographic data acquired from clinical trials/cohorts at the National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) are robust enough to support or refute the hypothesis of the study. This is achieved via reduction of variability in assessment, which in turn increases the study’s power. To this end, the specific functions are:
Current studies supported by the Echocardiography Core Lab:
Asian neTwork for Translational Research and Cardiovascular Trials (ATTRaCT) is a study enrolling patients with heart failure with preserved and reduced ejection fraction in Singapore.
ASIAN-HF is a multi-national Heart Failure registry across 11 Asian countries that focuses on heart failure patients with reduced and preserved ejection fraction.
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