Advances in the Field of Cardiology: “Virtual Image-based Fractional Flow Reserve Technologies” and “Stem Cell Regenerative Biology”

The leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide remains coronary artery disease (CAD).This necessitates precise diagnostic and effective therapeutic strategies.The advent of visual image-based fractional flow reserve (FFR) technologies-such as FFR derived from computed tomography (FFR-CT), angiography-based FFR (vFFR, QFR, caFFR), and artificial intelligence-assisted computational models-has revolutionized the physiological assessment of coronary lesions.These techniques combine advanced imaging with hemodynamic modeling to noninvasively estimate lesion-specific ischemia, providing improved accuracy, safety, and workflow efficiency compared to conventional wire-based FFR.Parallel to advances in diagnostics, stem cell (SC)-based regenerative biology has emerged as a promising therapeutic frontier in ischemic heart disease.Pluripotent SCs (cells that have the potential to differentiate into any cell type and are derived from the three primary germ layers: Endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm), mesenchymal SCs (which are multipotent SCs capable of developing into various connective tissues), and induced cardiac progenitors demonstrate potential to repair myocardial injury, promote neovascularization, and restore cardiac function.Ongoing translational research aims to enhance cell survival, integration, and paracrine efficacy through tissue-engineering and gene-editing approaches.This review integrates current evidence on visual image-based FFR technologies and SC-mediated cardiac regeneration, highlighting their complementary roles in the contemporary management of CAD-from noninvasive physiological assessment to myocardial repair.The convergence of advanced imaging analytics and regenerative medicine heralds a new era of precision diagnosis and personalized cardiology.