A DUNTOCHER heart patient has described how he found himself at the forefront of cutting-edge technology when artificial intelligence was used for the first time in Scotland to help provide life-saving operations for heart patients.

One of the first patients treated with the new technology at the hospital was 85-year-old Chris Stevenson, from Duntocher.

After suffering from heart problems from age 50, Chris's condition worsened recently and he needed four stents fitted.

During percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) operations to treat coronary artery disease, stents are placed in narrowed coronary arteries to keep them open and maintain blood flow to the heart.

Cardiologists at the hospital carry out planned PCIs using the new Ultreon 1.0 software which merges the existing imaging technique of optical coherence tomography (OCT) - which gives a view inside an artery - with AI for better visualisation, enabling faster, more accurate decisions.

Using both tools together gives cardiologists a comprehensive view inside patients' heart arteries, helping them to determine the best treatment for arterial calcification.

Chris, a retired mechanical engineer, was awake for the three-hour procedure and hopes it will help him be more active.

He said: "I've been taking things quite slowly at the moment. My wife Betty won't even let me do my normal chores, but I feel fantastic.

"I've also had two knee replacements so I haven't been able to do the hillwalking I love, but I would like to get back to just being able to go out and keep active, so hopefully this latest treatment will help me do that.

"I know how hard the specialists worked for me, as well as all the staff who booked me in and cared for me on the ward. I can't praise them highly enough, they were amazing."

The software speeds up the operation, using infrared lasers and AI to measure how much of the artery is diseased and the size of stent required.

This helps ensure stents are more accurately fitted, leading to improved long term health for patients.

Dr Stuart Watkins, consultant interventional cardiologist said: "As people get older they can develop hardening of the heart arteries due to calcification.

"This makes treating the arteries difficult for cardiologists because calcium is very hard and it can limit the expansion of our stents.

"It's very important to identify calcification in the heart arteries, which isn't always apparent from doing a basic coronary angiogram.

"OCT gives us extremely detailed pictures within the arteries so that we can pick up calcification and determine the best treatment strategy before we put stents in.

"Ultreon helps us quickly measure how much of the artery is diseased and what size of stent you have to put in, without taking too much time to do it."