Speed-up the Diagnosis and Evaluation of anoMalous Coronary ARTery From the Aorta (SMART)

April 10, 2026 updated by: IRCCS Policlinico S. Donato

SMART: Speed-up the Diagnosis and Evaluation of anoMalous Coronary ARTery From the Aorta.

Anomalous aortic origin of the coronary arteries (AAOCA) is a rare congenital disease and one of the leading causes of sudden cardiac deaths (SCD) in young athletes but also has a lethal presentation in adult age with myocardial infarction, even if not related to obstructive coronary arteries. Unfortunately, diagnostic imaging techniques, invasive assessment, and provocative stress tests have shown low sensitivity and specificity in detecting inducible ischemia, and a multimodality assessment is then necessary.

Innovative tools have been developed in the medical field using computer-based simulation, 3-dimensional reconstruction, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI). With the application of such new technologies, we aim to fill the gap of knowledge and the diagnostic limitation regarding risk stratification for most subjects with AAOCA.

This work seeks to enhance, fasten, and personalize the clinical diagnosis of AAOCA by integrating anatomical measurements, clinical data, and biomechanical patient-specific features. The SMART study will set a system to automatically segment and classify coronary arteries with AAOCA from computerized tomography angiography (CTA) by artificial intelligence (AI). Segmentation will feed a 3D model of the aortic root and coronary artery for biomechanical assessment through finite element analysis (FEA). This will allow us to assess the location of possible coronary artery compression under an effort condition. These in-silico results, the anatomical features measured by AI, and the clinical data will be integrated into a risk model to estimate the hazard risk of adverse events such as SCD or myocardial infarction. This workflow will be framed in an IT system to allow a web-based remote diagnostic service.

Thanks to the proposed multidisciplinary approach, SMART aims to overcome the current diagnostic limitations related to the reduced ability of functional stress tests to detect ischemia. Potentially helping in patient-specific risk stratification, SMART is also thought to provide a way to get a first diagnostic indication about AAOCA being accessible from any hospital, fostering the diffusion of peripheral territorial support to the diagnosis and treatment of such rare disease.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The project aims to create a web-based platform that allows the uploading Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA) images, particularly cardio CTA, with contrast medium in anonymized form.

The CTA images will be processed by a neural network developed by the project, which will be able to segment CTA automatically, identify the presence or not of the anomalous coronary origin, and retrieve geometrical measurements of the anatomy of interest. The anatomical and geometrical measurements, automatically made by artificial intelligence, will be integrated with clinical data and computational simulations (Finite Element Structural Analysis) to understand the potential site of dynamic coronary compression under simulated stress conditions.

The final output of the platform will be a report that will integrate clinical data and geometrical and anatomical information to estimate the hazard risk of sudden cardiac deaths or major adverse ischemic events.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
38

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Italy
    • Italia
      • San Donato Milanese, Italia, Italy, 20097

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adult and pediatric patients (age > 6 years) with anomalous coronary origin from the aorta (AAOCA).
  • Patients in spontaneous sinus rhythm.
  • Signed informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with acute and chronic inflammatory conditions such as chronic liver disease, chronic kidney failure (creatinine > 1.5 mg/dl), and thyroid disorders.
  • Patients with arrhythmias, absence of sinus rhythm.
  • Contraindications to autonomic testing.
  • Patients with a known allergy to materials in recording devices.
  • Female patients who are pregnant.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Prospective study

The prospective phase aims to validate the entire model developed during the retrospective phase and to evaluate the role of autonomic response in subjects with Anomalous Aortic Origin of a Coronary Artery (AAOCA). The prospective recruitment of the cohort of AAOCA patients for autonomic assessment and validation will span the entire duration of the study. Our objective is to recruit 38 patients with AAOCA to obtain consistent and uniform data from at least 32 participants. Patients in this cohort will undergo an active standing test to elicit an autonomic response, and the results will be compared with reference normal values.

During this examination, the following data will be collected: continuous ECG, non-invasive blood pressure, and respiratory measurements in both supine and prone positions.
Diagnostic test: Autonomic response in AAOCA

Autonomic regulation sub-analysis: Autonomic control will be evaluated in a population prospectively recruited.

Thirty-eight subjects with Anomalous Aortic Origin of a Coronary Artery (AAOCA) will undergo an active standing test. For this prospective sample, demographic and clinical data, as well as DICOM images from previously conducted diagnostic CT angiographies (CTAs) for AAOCA, will also be collected. These data will be utilized to assess the final functionality of the online platform before its public launch.

The patients will be subjected to the active standing test to elicit an autonomic response, with results compared to reference normal values. During this examination, the following data will be collected: continuous ECG, non-invasive blood pressure, and respiratory measurements in both supine and prone positions.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Analysis of Autonomic Test Data
Time Frame: two years
Beat-to-beat series will be extracted from recorded signals to derive indices related to autonomic, cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and peripheral microcirculation control during REST and STAND phases. The cardiac period will be defined as the interval between consecutive R peaks (RR- msec) in the ECG, with systolic (SAP - mmHg) and diastolic blood pressure (DAP - mmHg) calculated as the maximum and minimum pressures between these peaks. Random sequences of 250 beats will be selected from each recording and manually verified for corrections. Ectopic beats will be adjusted using cubic spline interpolation. Indices of cardiovascular control will be derived from time-domain variability measures, and spectral density will be estimated using a parametric autoregressive approach. Analyses will be conducted using software developed in Matlab and C++.
two years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
IRCCS Policlinico S. Donato

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
University of Pavia
University of Naples
The Mediterranean Institute for Transplantation and Advanced Specialized Therapies

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 12, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
February 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 17, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 22, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
November 26, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 15, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 10, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • PNRR-MCNT2-2023-12378301
  • MCNT2-2023-12378301 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Italian Ministery of Health)

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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