“The recipient of all that we do is the patient,” said Research Ireland chair Michael Horgan.
Ireland’s only dedicated cardiovascular research institute has opened a new Dublin hub at The Grain Store in Dublin 2 to advance innovation in heart therapies, Silicon Republic reported.
The Cardiovascular Research Institute Dublin said the site will host the next phase of its growth. Founded in 2019, the organisation is the result of a partnership between the Mater Private Network and RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences.
CVRI Dublin was set up to consolidate cardiovascular research and treatment data under one roof to give patients earlier access to new treatments. The facility brings together clinical trials, artificial intelligence-enabled imaging, and patient outcome data.
The institute connects clinicians, researchers, and medtech innovators to improve how heart disease is prevented, diagnosed, and treated. CVRI Dublin has a team of 30 researchers working with more than 45 consultant cardiologists across Dublin and Cork.
The organisation has conducted trials ranging from first-in-human studies to research shaping clinical guidelines. These include Cyclopes, an RCSI-sponsored study examining how best to treat heavily calcified coronary arteries.
Another project was Setanta, a study conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic that dispelled concerns the virus would cause widespread long-term scarring of the heart.
“When Mater Private established CVRI Dublin in 2019 with RCSI, our aim was to integrate advanced clinical research into the everyday treatment of patients with cardiovascular disease,” said Prof Robert Byrne, who serves as professor of cardiovascular research at RCSI, director of cardiology at Mater Private Network, and director of CVRI Dublin.
“Patients put their trust in us and we repay it through safer care, access to new therapies in our clinical trials, and research that improves treatment in Ireland and worldwide,” Byrne told Silicon Republic.
CVRI Dublin collaborates with Irish medtech start-ups, including Trinity College Dublin medical device spin-out company CroíValve. CroíValve is developing a minimally invasive device to treat tricuspid regurgitation, a severe cardiac disease, without open-heart surgery.
The company works with CVRI Dublin’s Precise Core Lab, a group led by deputy director Prof Osama Soliman. The lab combines imaging analysts and AI engineers to provide regulator-ready analysis for international clinical trials.
“This new building is a launch pad for our next phase, and for a coordinated network for cardiovascular research across Ireland and further afield,” Byrne said.
Research Ireland chair Michael Horgan opened the new facility.
“No single part of the system, whether the hospital, the university or industry, could develop world-class research by itself,” Horgan said.
The institute runs studies ranging from first-in-human trials to research that establishes clinical guidelines. Past projects include the Cyclopes study on calcified coronary arteries and the Setanta study on Covid-19 heart impacts.
Mater Private Network established CVRI Dublin in 2019 in collaboration with RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences.
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