CRT test event April 2026
Details
The annual CRTmeeting offers a rich program of educational and training sessions, highlighting the latest trial data, evidence-based research, and cutting-edge techniques that can be seamlessly integrated into both clinical and academic settings. The meeting features concurrent sessions across key areas of interest, including: Atherosclerosis & Lipids, Coronary, Digital Health & AI, Disparities, Endovascular, Electrophysiology, Heart Failure, MedTech & Innovation, Nurses and Technologists, Valve & Structural, and Women in Cardiology. Attendees gain invaluable opportunities to exchange ideas, collaborate on solutions in interventional cardiology, receive hands-on training, and connect with like-minded professionals.
Organised by
Bruce Samuels
Dr. Bruce Samuels is an interventional cardiologist on staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center...
Read MoreDr. Bruce Samuels is an interventional cardiologist on staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (CSMC) in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Samuels completed his medical studies at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York before returning to Southern California to complete his residency and chief residency in Internal Medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. At CSMC, he trained in both general and interventional cardiology before joining the medical staff there. In addition to his clinical practice in coronary intervention, Dr. Samuels has actively participated in numerous interventional trials including IVUS guided therapy, coronary physiology and microvascular disease. He is also working closely with the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center based at CSMC, working as an interventionalist in the active coronary reactivity research there. As co-chair of a 30-day readmissions task force, he has helped to shape policy for CSMC in its efforts to improve quality delivery of care. He has frequently been invited as faculty to many scientific meetings and is a sought after speaker for numerous peer educational platforms. Dr. Samuels is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Interventional Cardiology. He is married with three sons; his outside interests include contemporary art and long distance running.
Show LessDarshan Doshi
Dr. Darshan Doshi is an interventional cardiologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital who...
Read MoreDr. Darshan Doshi is an interventional cardiologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital who specializes in complex coronary interventions. He also helps directs the chronic total occlusions program, and leads imaging and physiology efforts in the cath lab. Dr. Doshi received his BA from Columbia University’s Columbia College and his MD from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed his internal medicine residency, and his cardiovascular medicine and interventional cardiology fellowships at the Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Doshi also underwent additional dedicated training at Columbia in complex and high-risk interventional procedures. He was then recruited to join the faculty in the Division of Cardiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Doshi also holds a MS in patient-oriented research from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health with a research interest focused on clinical trials evaluating novel cardiovascular devices and therapeutics in interventional cardiology. He has authored several original manuscripts in translational and clinical cardiovascular medicine, and has published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and Circulation, among many others.
Show LessDr. William Fearon
Dr. William Fearon graduated from Dartmouth College and received his medical degree from Columbia...
Read MoreDr. William Fearon graduated from Dartmouth College and received his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he was elected into the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He completed an Internal Medicine residency at Stanford University Medical Center serving an extra year as a Medical Chief Resident. He completed a General Cardiology and Interventional Cardiology fellowship at Stanford, spending his third year as the Chief Cardiology Fellow. He is currently a Professor of Cardiology and Director of Interventional Cardiology at Stanford University School of Mediciner. Dr. Fearon is board certified in cardiovascular medicine and interventional cardiology, and he is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions. He has been elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation. Dr. Fearon’s primary area of research interest is in coronary physiology. He was the US principal investigator and senior author of the FAME trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine and was a co-principal investigator and senior author of the FAME 2 trial, also published in the New England Journal of Medicine. He is now the principal investigator of the international FAME 3 trial comparing bypass surgery to fractional flow reserve guided percutaneous coronary intervention. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Circulation, JACC Cardiovascular Interventions, and Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions. He was the principal investigator on an R01 and is the PI on an R61/R33 NIH award evaluating cardiac allograft vasculopathy early after transplantation. Dr. Fearon’s clinical activities include not only percutaneous coronary intervention, but also transcatheter aortic valve replacement. He was a coauthor on the PARTNER 2A Trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Show LessErick Schampaert
Prof Erick Schampaert is a Professor of Medicine, University of Montreal. He has been...
Read MoreProf Erick Schampaert is a Professor of Medicine, University of Montreal. He has been Interventional cardiologist, Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montreal, since 1997, serving as Head of Division of Cardiology since 2006; Chair, CIUSSS NIM HSCM Cardiovascular Health Program since 2014 and Director of Clinical CV Research unit since 2001. Prof Schampaert’s research is focused mainly on Left Main PCI, Coronary physiology (FFR, iFR, CFR), Coronary imaging (IVUS and OCT), and ACS (STEMI) and platelet functions. Prof Schampaert is a Local PI for more than 75 clinical trials and is an author or co-author of more than 75 manuscripts in journals such as NEJM, Lancet, Circulation, JACC, EHJ.
Show LessEvan Shlofmitz
Dr. Evan Shlofmitz is an Interventional Cardiologist and the Director of Intravascular Imaging at...
Read MoreDr. Evan Shlofmitz is an Interventional Cardiologist and the Director of Intravascular Imaging at St. Francis Hospital - The Heart Center in Roslyn, NY. He completed a fellowship in Interventional Cardiology at Georgetown University/MedStar Washington Hospital Center. He previously completed an Intravascular Imaging and Physiology fellowship at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) and Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), a Cardiovascular Disease fellowship at Northwell Health and served as Chief Resident for Internal Medicine at New York Presbyterian Queens. He serves on SCAI's IHD Council and is a co-director of Optimizing PCI (OPCI). His research interests have centered on intravascular imaging, the treatment of calcified coronary artery disease, in-stent restenosis and the optimization of stent implantation, with more than 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals.
Show LessMorton Kern
Dr. Kern is Chief of Medicine, VA Long Beach Health Care System, Professor of Medicine,...
Read MoreDr. Kern is Chief of Medicine, VA Long Beach Health Care System, Professor of Medicine, University California, Irvine. He continues to perform and teach cardiac catheterization and PCI. Dr. Kern is ABIM Certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases and Interventional Cardiology and is a past president and now a Master Fellow of the SCAI. His research interests in coronary blood flow, intravascular physiology, intravascular ultrasound, vulnerable plaque and evaluation of cardiovascular hemodynamics. He has authored several textbooks, notably The Cardiac Catheterization Handbook, 6th ed. and its companion The Interventional Cardiac Cath Handbook, 4th ed.
Show LessRichard Shlofmitz
Dr Richard A. Shlofmitz, MD, FACC is the Chairman of Cardiology at St. Francis Hospital, The...
Read MoreDr Richard A. Shlofmitz, MD, FACC is the Chairman of Cardiology at St. Francis Hospital, The Heart Center®, in Roslyn, New York. A pioneer in interventional cardiology, Dr. Shlofmitz has worked to advance the field, with a focus on optimizing outcomes with the development of Precision PCI. He is a founding co-director of the annual Intravascular Imaging and Coronary Physiology Workshop. Performing over 1,000 coronary interventions annually, he has one of the largest volumes of experience in PCI. He has the most clinical experience with orbital atherectomy and OCT world-wide. His clinical research interests focus on optimizing coronary interventions and he serves on multiple scientific advisory boards and clinical trial steering committees to further this mission. Dr Shlofmitz has been one of the largest enrollers for multiple clinical trials, including TWILIGHT, ILUMIEN III, and Onyx, with more than 75 publications in peer-reviewed journals and was first to perform coronary intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) in North America as part of the DISRUPT CAD III trial.
Show LessRobert Widmer
Robert Widmer is an interventional cardiologist at Baylor Scott and White Medical Center, Temple,...
Read MoreRobert Widmer is an interventional cardiologist at Baylor Scott and White Medical Center, Temple, US.
Show LessRon Waksman
Ron Waksman, MD, FACC, Associate Director, Division of Cardiology, MedStar Washington Hospital...
Read MoreRon Waksman, MD, FACC, Associate Director, Division of Cardiology, MedStar Washington Hospital Center (MWHC) and Director of Cardiovascular Research and Advanced Education for the MedStar Heart and Vascular Institute at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center. With nearly 20 years of experience in leading edge medical technologies, Dr. Waksman is a world-renowned interventional cardiologist and is a highly sought after Principal Investigator for pre-clinical and clinical studies conducted in the United States and abroad. Dr Waksman has performed over 5000 coronary interventions throughout his career.
Show LessZiad Ali
Ziad Ali is the Director of the DeMatteis Cardiovascular Institute, Director of Investigational...
Read MoreZiad Ali is the Director of the DeMatteis Cardiovascular Institute, Director of Investigational Interventional Cardiology, and Director of Cardio-nephrology at St Francis Hospital & Heart Center in New York. He is also Director of the Angiographic Core Laboratory at Cardiovascular Research Foundation and Associate Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. His clinical research interests focus on the use of intravascular imaging and physiology technologies such as optical coherence tomography, intravascular ultrasound, and flow wire assessment to optimize coronary interventions, for which he has served as a Global principal investigator on a number of trials. Dr. Ali is also a recognized innovator, playing an integral role in the development of the Resting Full-Cycle Ratio (RFR) and Shockwave intravascular lithotripsy. Clinically Dr. Ali developed pioneering techniques to perform vascular interventions without contrast administration, including IVUS-guided zero-contrast PCI and OCT using saline flush media, protecting patients with advanced kidney disease from acute kidney injury and the need for dialysis.
Show LessSpeaker: Robert Widmer
8:08 - 8:16 AM EST: Moving Beyond Single-Point Physiology | FFR/NHPR Pullback
Speaker: Morton Kern
8:16 - 8:24 AM EST: Explaining Resting and Hyperemic Discordance
Speaker: Bruce Samuels
8:24 - 8:32 AM EST: Coronary Physiology for PCI Guidance | Lessons Learned from DEFINE GPS
Speaker: Darshan Doshi
Bruce Samuels
Dr. Bruce Samuels is an interventional cardiologist on staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center...
Read MoreDr. Bruce Samuels is an interventional cardiologist on staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (CSMC) in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Samuels completed his medical studies at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York before returning to Southern California to complete his residency and chief residency in Internal Medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. At CSMC, he trained in both general and interventional cardiology before joining the medical staff there. In addition to his clinical practice in coronary intervention, Dr. Samuels has actively participated in numerous interventional trials including IVUS guided therapy, coronary physiology and microvascular disease. He is also working closely with the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center based at CSMC, working as an interventionalist in the active coronary reactivity research there. As co-chair of a 30-day readmissions task force, he has helped to shape policy for CSMC in its efforts to improve quality delivery of care. He has frequently been invited as faculty to many scientific meetings and is a sought after speaker for numerous peer educational platforms. Dr. Samuels is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Interventional Cardiology. He is married with three sons; his outside interests include contemporary art and long distance running.
Show LessDarshan Doshi
Dr. Darshan Doshi is an interventional cardiologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital who...
Read MoreDr. Darshan Doshi is an interventional cardiologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital who specializes in complex coronary interventions. He also helps directs the chronic total occlusions program, and leads imaging and physiology efforts in the cath lab. Dr. Doshi received his BA from Columbia University’s Columbia College and his MD from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed his internal medicine residency, and his cardiovascular medicine and interventional cardiology fellowships at the Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Doshi also underwent additional dedicated training at Columbia in complex and high-risk interventional procedures. He was then recruited to join the faculty in the Division of Cardiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Doshi also holds a MS in patient-oriented research from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health with a research interest focused on clinical trials evaluating novel cardiovascular devices and therapeutics in interventional cardiology. He has authored several original manuscripts in translational and clinical cardiovascular medicine, and has published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and Circulation, among many others.
Show LessMorton Kern
Dr. Kern is Chief of Medicine, VA Long Beach Health Care System, Professor of Medicine,...
Read MoreDr. Kern is Chief of Medicine, VA Long Beach Health Care System, Professor of Medicine, University California, Irvine. He continues to perform and teach cardiac catheterization and PCI. Dr. Kern is ABIM Certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases and Interventional Cardiology and is a past president and now a Master Fellow of the SCAI. His research interests in coronary blood flow, intravascular physiology, intravascular ultrasound, vulnerable plaque and evaluation of cardiovascular hemodynamics. He has authored several textbooks, notably The Cardiac Catheterization Handbook, 6th ed. and its companion The Interventional Cardiac Cath Handbook, 4th ed.
Show LessRobert Widmer
Robert Widmer is an interventional cardiologist at Baylor Scott and White Medical Center, Temple,...
Read MoreRobert Widmer is an interventional cardiologist at Baylor Scott and White Medical Center, Temple, US.
Show LessRichard Shlofmitz, Ziad Ali
Live case moderators:
Morton Kern, Robert Widmer
Panel discussants:
Darshan Doshi, William Fearon, Bruce Samuels, Erick Schampaert, Evan Shlofmitz, Ron Waksman
Bruce Samuels
Dr. Bruce Samuels is an interventional cardiologist on staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center...
Read MoreDr. Bruce Samuels is an interventional cardiologist on staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (CSMC) in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Samuels completed his medical studies at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York before returning to Southern California to complete his residency and chief residency in Internal Medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. At CSMC, he trained in both general and interventional cardiology before joining the medical staff there. In addition to his clinical practice in coronary intervention, Dr. Samuels has actively participated in numerous interventional trials including IVUS guided therapy, coronary physiology and microvascular disease. He is also working closely with the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center based at CSMC, working as an interventionalist in the active coronary reactivity research there. As co-chair of a 30-day readmissions task force, he has helped to shape policy for CSMC in its efforts to improve quality delivery of care. He has frequently been invited as faculty to many scientific meetings and is a sought after speaker for numerous peer educational platforms. Dr. Samuels is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Interventional Cardiology. He is married with three sons; his outside interests include contemporary art and long distance running.
Show LessDarshan Doshi
Dr. Darshan Doshi is an interventional cardiologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital who...
Read MoreDr. Darshan Doshi is an interventional cardiologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital who specializes in complex coronary interventions. He also helps directs the chronic total occlusions program, and leads imaging and physiology efforts in the cath lab. Dr. Doshi received his BA from Columbia University’s Columbia College and his MD from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed his internal medicine residency, and his cardiovascular medicine and interventional cardiology fellowships at the Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Doshi also underwent additional dedicated training at Columbia in complex and high-risk interventional procedures. He was then recruited to join the faculty in the Division of Cardiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Doshi also holds a MS in patient-oriented research from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health with a research interest focused on clinical trials evaluating novel cardiovascular devices and therapeutics in interventional cardiology. He has authored several original manuscripts in translational and clinical cardiovascular medicine, and has published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and Circulation, among many others.
Show LessDr. William Fearon
Dr. William Fearon graduated from Dartmouth College and received his medical degree from Columbia...
Read MoreDr. William Fearon graduated from Dartmouth College and received his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he was elected into the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He completed an Internal Medicine residency at Stanford University Medical Center serving an extra year as a Medical Chief Resident. He completed a General Cardiology and Interventional Cardiology fellowship at Stanford, spending his third year as the Chief Cardiology Fellow. He is currently a Professor of Cardiology and Director of Interventional Cardiology at Stanford University School of Mediciner. Dr. Fearon is board certified in cardiovascular medicine and interventional cardiology, and he is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions. He has been elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation. Dr. Fearon’s primary area of research interest is in coronary physiology. He was the US principal investigator and senior author of the FAME trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine and was a co-principal investigator and senior author of the FAME 2 trial, also published in the New England Journal of Medicine. He is now the principal investigator of the international FAME 3 trial comparing bypass surgery to fractional flow reserve guided percutaneous coronary intervention. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Circulation, JACC Cardiovascular Interventions, and Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions. He was the principal investigator on an R01 and is the PI on an R61/R33 NIH award evaluating cardiac allograft vasculopathy early after transplantation. Dr. Fearon’s clinical activities include not only percutaneous coronary intervention, but also transcatheter aortic valve replacement. He was a coauthor on the PARTNER 2A Trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Show LessErick Schampaert
Prof Erick Schampaert is a Professor of Medicine, University of Montreal. He has been...
Read MoreProf Erick Schampaert is a Professor of Medicine, University of Montreal. He has been Interventional cardiologist, Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montreal, since 1997, serving as Head of Division of Cardiology since 2006; Chair, CIUSSS NIM HSCM Cardiovascular Health Program since 2014 and Director of Clinical CV Research unit since 2001. Prof Schampaert’s research is focused mainly on Left Main PCI, Coronary physiology (FFR, iFR, CFR), Coronary imaging (IVUS and OCT), and ACS (STEMI) and platelet functions. Prof Schampaert is a Local PI for more than 75 clinical trials and is an author or co-author of more than 75 manuscripts in journals such as NEJM, Lancet, Circulation, JACC, EHJ.
Show LessEvan Shlofmitz
Dr. Evan Shlofmitz is an Interventional Cardiologist and the Director of Intravascular Imaging at...
Read MoreDr. Evan Shlofmitz is an Interventional Cardiologist and the Director of Intravascular Imaging at St. Francis Hospital - The Heart Center in Roslyn, NY. He completed a fellowship in Interventional Cardiology at Georgetown University/MedStar Washington Hospital Center. He previously completed an Intravascular Imaging and Physiology fellowship at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) and Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), a Cardiovascular Disease fellowship at Northwell Health and served as Chief Resident for Internal Medicine at New York Presbyterian Queens. He serves on SCAI's IHD Council and is a co-director of Optimizing PCI (OPCI). His research interests have centered on intravascular imaging, the treatment of calcified coronary artery disease, in-stent restenosis and the optimization of stent implantation, with more than 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals.
Show LessMorton Kern
Dr. Kern is Chief of Medicine, VA Long Beach Health Care System, Professor of Medicine,...
Read MoreDr. Kern is Chief of Medicine, VA Long Beach Health Care System, Professor of Medicine, University California, Irvine. He continues to perform and teach cardiac catheterization and PCI. Dr. Kern is ABIM Certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases and Interventional Cardiology and is a past president and now a Master Fellow of the SCAI. His research interests in coronary blood flow, intravascular physiology, intravascular ultrasound, vulnerable plaque and evaluation of cardiovascular hemodynamics. He has authored several textbooks, notably The Cardiac Catheterization Handbook, 6th ed. and its companion The Interventional Cardiac Cath Handbook, 4th ed.
Show LessRichard Shlofmitz
Dr Richard A. Shlofmitz, MD, FACC is the Chairman of Cardiology at St. Francis Hospital, The...
Read MoreDr Richard A. Shlofmitz, MD, FACC is the Chairman of Cardiology at St. Francis Hospital, The Heart Center®, in Roslyn, New York. A pioneer in interventional cardiology, Dr. Shlofmitz has worked to advance the field, with a focus on optimizing outcomes with the development of Precision PCI. He is a founding co-director of the annual Intravascular Imaging and Coronary Physiology Workshop. Performing over 1,000 coronary interventions annually, he has one of the largest volumes of experience in PCI. He has the most clinical experience with orbital atherectomy and OCT world-wide. His clinical research interests focus on optimizing coronary interventions and he serves on multiple scientific advisory boards and clinical trial steering committees to further this mission. Dr Shlofmitz has been one of the largest enrollers for multiple clinical trials, including TWILIGHT, ILUMIEN III, and Onyx, with more than 75 publications in peer-reviewed journals and was first to perform coronary intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) in North America as part of the DISRUPT CAD III trial.
Show LessRobert Widmer
Robert Widmer is an interventional cardiologist at Baylor Scott and White Medical Center, Temple,...
Read MoreRobert Widmer is an interventional cardiologist at Baylor Scott and White Medical Center, Temple, US.
Show LessRon Waksman
Ron Waksman, MD, FACC, Associate Director, Division of Cardiology, MedStar Washington Hospital...
Read MoreRon Waksman, MD, FACC, Associate Director, Division of Cardiology, MedStar Washington Hospital Center (MWHC) and Director of Cardiovascular Research and Advanced Education for the MedStar Heart and Vascular Institute at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center. With nearly 20 years of experience in leading edge medical technologies, Dr. Waksman is a world-renowned interventional cardiologist and is a highly sought after Principal Investigator for pre-clinical and clinical studies conducted in the United States and abroad. Dr Waksman has performed over 5000 coronary interventions throughout his career.
Show LessZiad Ali
Ziad Ali is the Director of the DeMatteis Cardiovascular Institute, Director of Investigational...
Read MoreZiad Ali is the Director of the DeMatteis Cardiovascular Institute, Director of Investigational Interventional Cardiology, and Director of Cardio-nephrology at St Francis Hospital & Heart Center in New York. He is also Director of the Angiographic Core Laboratory at Cardiovascular Research Foundation and Associate Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. His clinical research interests focus on the use of intravascular imaging and physiology technologies such as optical coherence tomography, intravascular ultrasound, and flow wire assessment to optimize coronary interventions, for which he has served as a Global principal investigator on a number of trials. Dr. Ali is also a recognized innovator, playing an integral role in the development of the Resting Full-Cycle Ratio (RFR) and Shockwave intravascular lithotripsy. Clinically Dr. Ali developed pioneering techniques to perform vascular interventions without contrast administration, including IVUS-guided zero-contrast PCI and OCT using saline flush media, protecting patients with advanced kidney disease from acute kidney injury and the need for dialysis.
Show Less