Entrepreneurs Save Lives with New Heart Diagnostic Technology

Groundbreaking new technology in the form of a VCT scanner can save lives by detecting heart disease at its early stages. "It's a safe, five-second scan that measures and calculates calcium buildup – cholesterol-laden plaque – in the arteries," says Dan Caterino, owner of South Coast Signature Services Inc., in Anaheim, Calif. (www.leapoutsidethebox.com). "A calcium score chart provides a safe outline for the interpreters reading the scan." Not only is the VCT scanner patient friendly, but it also provides cardiologists with a 97% to 99% negative predictive value that ensures accuracy.

When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data announcing that the U.S. 2004 mortality rate plummeted by nearly 50,000 – the steepest drop since 1938 – industry expert Caterino saw it coming. "Heart disease continues to be the number one killer in the U.S., but the year is notable because early applications provided in 2004 inspired the new technology in the scanners of today," he says. "64-slice scanners give people the opportunity to discover heart disease at its earliest stages, when it's possible to treat the disease and increase longevity."

The VCT has a distinct advantage over the Framingham Stress Test, the traditional method of diagnosing heart disease. "When a treadmill is used to measure blood flow in the arteries, heart disease isn't evident until the arteries have narrowed 60% to 70%, which is a deadly figure," says Caterino.

Given that, for 30 percent of people with heart disease, the first warning sign is death, early VCT detection and treatment is critical. Caterino is frustrated that heart disease has been the number one killer of Americans for the past 40 years, and that "cardiologists are practicing medicine reactively, rather than proactively."

Caterino doesn't blame the doctors. He blames the laws that prevent doctors from investing in medical equipment that could save lives. Caterino points to the federal Stark Law, which prohibits doctors from making a referral to a Medicaid or Medicare reimbursable health service with which they have a financial relationship, as a prime example. "Today, the technology exists to diagnose heart disease before it becomes life-threatening," he says. "Yet cardiologists are in a defensive mode, since they're not allowed to own equipment or invest in facilities that perform life-saving tests."

Instead, entrepreneurs are stepping in to build stand-alone medical imaging facilities with VCT scanning technology. "In essence, entrepreneurs are saving lives with venture capital," says Caterino. "The ability to detect heart disease early saves lives. With continued support from entrepreneurs, I am hopeful that VCT scanners will continue to contribute to lower U.S. mortality rates in coming years."

"This is an incredible opportunity for investors who are always looking for something different and better," says Caterino. "This is a great investment for people who are frustrated with their portfolio, see the value in something new, and can appreciate a long-term return that doesn't need to be monitored."

Dan Caterino adds, "One way you can judge the validity of this investment is that the original research experts who worked on this now FDA-approved technology are the ones who are opening the centers today."