Researchers at the Catharina Heart and Vascular Center, together with Eindhoven University of Technology, have developed a new measurement method to analyze the smallest capillaries of the heart by measuring blood flow and resistance. The new method to assess coronary microcirculation allows cardiologists to make a clearer diagnosis. Until recently, the tests used for this purpose were not comprehensive. In Dutch, disease of the capillaries of the heart is also called ‘woman's heart’.
Daniëlle Keulards, researcher at the Catharina Ziekenhuis, obtained her doctorate on 14 October on this new measurement method in the research group of Cardiovascular Biomechanics at the department of Biomedical Engineering. The method she helped to develop is now being used in a number of large heart centers in the Netherlands and abroad.