Dr Sam Heuts (Dept of Cardiothoracic Surgery; pictured left) is one of ten recipients of a grant from the Academic Fund 2026 for the research project VISIONARY.

In this project, he investigates whether CT scanning can replace invasive cardiac catheterisation in the preoperative assessment of cardiac surgery patients. The aim is to reduce unnecessary invasive procedures and make care safer, faster, and more patient-friendly.

The study is conducted within a multidisciplinary team, involving cardiothoracic surgery (Elham Bidar), cardiology (Martijn Smulders), and radiology (Casper Mihl), and makes use of advanced CT technology.