Research Areas
Research in the D. Berman Laboratory combines both laboratory work and clinical trials. Over the past two decades, as director of the Cardiac Imaging Research team, Daniel S. Berman, MD, has amassed the world’s largest registry of information on patient results from cardiac imaging studies. The Cardiac Imaging Research Registry has data on cardiac imaging procedures including nuclear cardiology, positron-emission tomography (PET), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and cardiac magnetic resonance image studies performed at Cedars-Sinai. Results gathered and analyses of data from the Cardiac Imaging Research Registry have contributed to best practices for nuclear cardiology testing used globally. Patients around the world have benefited through improved patient management such as using imaging to select patients for angioplasty or bypass surgery and reducing the number of unnecessary invasive procedures.
Continued laboratory research and clinical trials in the D. Berman Lab is designed to further improve diagnostics, patient care and outcomes using noninvasive cardiac imaging.
The purpose of this research registry is to develop an organized system of information (demographic, historical, clinical, imaging and outcomes) from patients undergoing cardiac imaging procedures for use in ongoing and future research. The registry will allow qualified investigators at Cedars-Sinai to conduct analyses and write manuscripts that are critical to improving the ability to detect, accurately assess, and possibly prevent adverse outcomes of heart disease.
Major Cardiac Imaging Research Clinical Trials in the D. Berman Laboratory
Current areas of cardiac imaging research in the D. Berman Lab include clinical trials regarding coronary artery disease and aortic stenosis.
Coronary Artery Disease Clinical Trials
- Assessing Diagnostic Value of Non-Invasive Fractional Flow Reserve Derived From Computed Tomography (FFRCT) in Coronary Care (ADVANCE)
The objective of the ADVANCE Registry is to evaluate utility, clinical outcomes and resource utilization of FFRCT-guided evaluation in clinically stable, symptomatic patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) in order to further inform patients, healthcare providers and other stakeholders about which technologies are most effective and efficient in the diagnosis and management of CAD.
- 18F-fluoride (18F-NaF) PET for Identifying Coronary Atherosclerotic Plaques
The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether 18F-NaF (sodium fluoride) PET scans can be used to identify ruptured and high-risk plaque as compared to noninvasive CCTA scans and high-definition intravascular ultrasound. In subsets of patients, 18F-NaF PET scans and CCTA will be repeated to assess scan-rescan reproducibility.
Atherosclerosis Clinical Trial
- Effect of EVOLocumab on coronary artery plaque Volume and composition by coronary CTA (CCTA) and microcalcification by F18-NaF PET
The objective is to test if evolocumab, a PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9) inhibitor, reduces the volume of noncalcified plaque in coronary arteries as measured by coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and determine the components of non-calcified coronary artery plaque that are affected by treatment. It will also study to see if lipid lowering with evolocumab is associated with changes in microcalcification in aortic atherosclerotic plaque as measured by F18-NaF PET.
Effect of Evolocumab
State-of-the-Art Imaging Equipment Used in the D. Berman Laboratory
The D. Berman Laboratory has a comprehensive line of imaging equipment that can only be found at one of the leading medical centers in the country. The many state-of-the-art scanners available at the S. Mark Taper Imaging Center allow D. Berman Lab researchers and clinicians at Cedars-Sinai the most advanced imaging capabilities. Some of the scanners include:
MAGNETOM Avanto MRI
PET/MR Scanner / Molecular MR
Biograph Trupoint PET-CT
D-SPECT Cardiac Gamma Camera
SOMATOM Definition Flash CT Scanner
Discovery PET CT Scanner
Discovery SPECT/CT