From now on, family members anxious about a patient undergoing a coronary
catheterization or angioplasty with the insertion of a stent do not have to wait
until the procedure is over to find out how it went.
Thanks to technology
developed at the Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus, the relatives – and even
the alert patient in the operating theater – will be able to view the whole
process on their iPad screens.
Prof. Ran Kornowsky, director of the
catheterization institute at the Petah Tikva hospital, announced on Sunday night
that patients and their relatives could now view the minimally invasive cardiac
procedure in real time.
In catheterization, a tiny catheter is threaded
into the heart via a small incision in the groin or in the arm. Once it reaches
its destination, the catheter is followed through the heart vessels to diagnose
heart disease, or used with a “balloon” that expands the clogged vessels and, if
necessary, leaves a mesh stent to hold the vessel open and ensure proper blood
flow.
The application, jointly developed by the Rabin Medical Center and
the McKesson company, enables one to view the whole procedure and medical data
at high resolution on one’s Apple iPad.
“This is the beginning of a new
medical era,” said Kornowsky, who initiated the project. “Instead of [doctors]
explaining to the patient and his family what catheterization is and telling
them [after the procedure] what was done, they can now see it for themselves on
their iPads in a totally visual, clear and professional manner. This is a
different kind of experience that enables the performance of medicine at eye
level.”
Continued the interventional cardiologist, “I believe that this
development will be followed by additional applications in the world of imaging
– X ray, MRI and CT. The dialogue with the patient changes and turns more
practical. There is no more need for using descriptions and drawings, and the
patient can delve into the ‘what’ instead of the ‘how.’” With the new program,
the data from the catheterization is collected from the beginning, when the
incision is made. The application then follows the measurement of pressure in
the heart, the injection of the contrast material and the sampling of blood
vessel tissue, through to the widening of the coronary arteries via the balloon
and the insertion of stents. The patient, said Kornowsky, will be able to get
information on what he is experiencing without even getting out of
bed.
Not only will the new iPad arrangement benefit the patient and his
or her family, but it will also make it possible for the medical staff to
consult with medical departments anywhere and at all times, and perform
measurements and testing directly on the device. This will improve treatment and
make it more efficient, Kornowsky said.