Clinical trial finds Philips' instant wave-free ratio (iFR) more cost-effective than fractional flow reserve (FFR) in the guidance of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for heart disease

Health economic data from the DEFINE FLAIR trial demonstrates an iFR-guided strategy reduces costs and improves patient comfort compared to an FFR-guided strategy, while delivering consistent cost savings and patient outcomes

AMSTERDAM and ORLANDO, Florida, March 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today announced health economic results from the DEFINE FLAIR clinical trial comparing cost-effectiveness between instant wave-free ratio (iFR) and fractional flow reserve (FFR) in the guidance of treatment of ischemic heart disease at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) annual meeting in Orlando, Florida, March 10–12, 2018. The study found that an iFR-guided strategy offers a one-year average cost savings of US$896 per patient compared to an FFR-guided strategy, while delivering consistent patient outcomes. iFR is an innovative pressure-derived index unique to Philips, a global leader in image-guided therapy solutions, allowing a simplified hyperemia-free physiological assessment of coronary blockages.

Coronary artery disease is the most common type of heart disease and is the leading cause of death in the U.S. for men and women^[1]. Coronary physiology has become routine in planning coronary revascularization, and DEFINE FLAIR compared using iFR and FFR strategies to guide these types of procedures. With an average saving of nearly US$900 per patient per year, the study found that iFR offers a total procedure cost saving of approximately 10 percent per patient over FFR. Additionally, patients treated with the use of an iFR-guided revascularization strategy had fewer coronary artery bypass graft procedures and fewer subsequent revascularizations. Previous data from DEFINE FLAIR released in 2017 found that iFR-guided treatments reduced procedure time by 10 percent versus FFR-guided treatments, while reducing patient discomfort by 90 percent^[2]. The pivotal DEFINE FLAIR study continues to illustrate the advantages of iFR and the superior value it delivers to clinicians and hospital administrators.

"The findings from DEFINE FLAIR continue to demonstrate the benefits of iFR, showing that an iFR-guided treatment offers proven outcomes, reduced costs and procedure time, and enhanced patient comfort compared to FFR," said Dr. Manesh Patel, MD, FACC, FSCAI, Chief of the Division of Cardiology and Co-Director of the Duke Heart Center at Duke University School of Medicine. "iFR is not only a faster diagnostic solution, but it also offers the advantage of significantly reduced patient discomfort. By implementing an iFR program at a hospital, this solution can deliver the clinical outcome benefits of physiology-driven PCI, while reducing annual health care costs significantly across the organization."