St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center Interventional Cardiology Team is Third in the World to Utilize Advanced Catheter System

In December 2025, the interventional cardiology team at St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center enrolled its first patient in the Acolyte CTO-PCI Study, becoming the third hospital in the world to utilize the Acolyte OCT guided re-entry catheter system. This innovative technology uses advanced intravascular imaging to treat patients with Chronic Total Occlusions (CTOs), completely closed vessels inside the heart, who continue to experience persistent symptoms after medical therapy. These blockages deprive the heart of oxygen, causing chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue and more. 

“The device provides real-time visualization of a consistent blockage in the heart, allowing for guidewire placement in the blocked vessel,” said Ziad Ali, MD, director of the DeMatteis Cardiovascular Institute at St. Francis Hospital and principal investigator of the study. “This precision leads to enhanced safety in an otherwise higher risk revascularization, aimed at restoring blood flow within the artery.” 

Pictured in the photo: Evan Shlofmitz, DO, Director of Intravascular Imaging, St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center; Jeff Moses, MD, Chairman of Cardiology, Catholic Health’s Good Samaritan University Hospital; John Simpson, MD, Founder and CEO, Simpson Interventions; Ziad Ali, MD, Director of the DeMatteis Cardiovascular Institute, St. Francis Hospital; and Allen Jeremias, MD, Director of Interventional Cardiology Research and Associate Director, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, St. Francis Hospital.