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An ERC-funded solution to accelerate diagnosis using cardiac MRI

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The European Research Council (ERC) announced the winners of the "ERC Proof of Concept 2025" call for proposals on January 27th 2026. Aurélien Bustin, junior professor at the University of Bordeaux, researcher at IHU Liryc, at the Bordeaux Cardiothoracic Research Centre (University of Bordeaux/Inserm) and collaborator in the cardiac and thoracic imaging department at Haut-Lévêque Hospital - Bordeaux University Hospital, has secured 150,000 € in funding for his HEARTERIX project. It aims to develop a software solution capable of automating diagnosis using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.

Photo : Aurélien Bustin © Romane Marcel - IHU Liryc
Aurélien Bustin © Romane Marcel - IHU Liryc

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in Europe, with over 1.8 million deaths per year. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the gold standard for non-invasive diagnosis, but it remains a lengthy and complex procedure. A standard examination takes between 40 and 60 minutes and requires more than 400 manual manipulations to acquire the images, which then take 20 to 30 minutes to interpret. These constraints result in waiting times of several months, preventing early diagnosis and delaying patient care.

The HEARTERIX project is based on the patented SPOT-MAPPING innovation, developed by Professor Aurélien Bustin and his team as part of the SMHEART project (winner of an ERC Starting Grant in 2022), which enables the simultaneous acquisition of images of cardiac anatomy, scarring and myocardial oedema.

A diagnostic report that takes less than 10 seconds instead of 17 minutes

The HEARTERIX software will incorporate artificial intelligence algorithms to automate the analysis of this data with three main objectives: to automatically segment cardiac structures, quantify scar load, oedema and microvascular obstruction, and generate a complete diagnostic report in less than 10 seconds, compared to 17 minutes for a human expert.

The project includes an 18-month prospective clinical validation to ensure the reliability of the software for direct integration into the machines of major manufacturers. It will involve 150 patients and will be rolled out across three leading hospitals: Bordeaux University Hospital (Prof. Hubert Cochet), Hospices Civils de Lyon (Prof. Salim Si-Mohamed) and Toulouse University Hospital (Prof. Damien Mandry).

On a societal level, the project aims to deliver tangible benefits for patients:

  • Reducing waiting lists: by halving the overall time required for the examination and its analysis.
  • The democratisation of expertise: enabling non-specialist hospitals to perform high-precision diagnostics.
  • Precision medicine: offering early detection and improving patient selection for major treatments, such as defibrillator implantation.

The ERC and the two other winners from the Bordeaux campus, Thomas Salez and Nicolas L'Heureux

The European Research Council (ERC) is Europe's premier funding body for scientific excellence in exploratory research, established by the European Union in 2007.

The ERC funds outstanding research projects across Europe through four programmes: Starting (early-stage researchers), Consolidator (researchers in the consolidation phase), Advanced (senior researchers) and Synergy (teams of researchers working together).

Proof of Concept (PoC) funding provides additional support to explore the innovation potential of results from an already funded ERC project. 136 grants were awarded in this second wave and 150 in the first wave (last July), for a total of 45 million euros.

Two other researchers on the Bordeaux campus have also been awarded this funding: :

  • Thomas Salez, CNRS research director at the Aquitaine Waves and Matter Laboratory (LOMA - CNRS unit and University of Bordeaux) for the BIFFTANNEN project to develop and promote an innovative and versatile bio-physico-chemical characterisation platform. His work on Brownian motion could find applications in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and water treatment industries.
  • Nicolas l'Heureux, Inserm Research Director and Director of the Tissue Bioengineering Unit (BioTis – Inserm unit and University of Bordeaux for the CAMFLAKES project (announced last July). This project is based on a new generation of fully biological, human-derived injectable implants, free from synthetic materials, capable of integrating into the body without triggering an inflammatory response.