Leading cardiac treatment at Life Vincent Pallotti

Patients from throughout South Africa and further afield choose the unit because of its outstanding team of cardiologists and cardio-thoracic surgeons, its sophisticated technology and superb patient care.

Veronica de Bruyn, hospital manager, Dr Japie du Toit, Life Healthcare Regional hospital manager, Sue Scholtz Life Healthcare regional marketing manager and Ryan O’Connor from KFM

A member of the Life Healthcare Group, the Life Vincent Pallotti Cardiac Unit is committed to staying at the forefront of high-technology cardiac care, with the installation of the Artis Zee Biplane System with the first longitudinal screen.

The hospital has recently installed the cutting-edge system that also offers with mixed detectors as well as the DynaCT workstation for CT like reconstructions as well as a server archive system.

Artis zee is a major advance in interventional imaging that supports clinical specialists in a variety of ways: its imaging chain offers outstanding image quality which allows for improved clinical decisions, while its workflow enhancements assist the clinical team to function more efficiently.

More demanding

"The field of interventional cardiology has never been more demanding," says Kurt Hufkie, business development manager AX, Healthcare Sector at Siemens Southern Africa. "To enhance patient outcomes and remain at the cutting edge, clinical specialists need an imaging system that enables them to care for their patients with greater speed, efficiency and precision. This upgraded Cath. Lab. takes cardiac check-ups to a whole new level."

Dr Saleem Dawood and Ryan O’Connor.

The Artis zee biplane system is a Cath.Lab which offers a multi-axis imaging system for cardiovascular procedures as well a variable working height and enables large volume 3D imaging which allows for improved cardiac image quality. Radiation levels for both patients and the clinical team are reduced without compromising image quality.

Veronica de Bruyn, Hospital Manager at Life Vincent Pallotti says the challenge in the past has been that the hospital's six cardiologists and one electro-physiologist could not do all the micro interventions they were capable of doing. "In light of our focus on continual improvement we do everything we can to remain abreast of the latest technology.

More advanced technology

"We first introduced a Cath Lab in 1999 but obviously this latest version has much more advanced technology and features built into it. Although the acquisition of the Artis zee biplane was made for cardiac use at Life Vincent Pallotti, the system does have vascular as well as neuro capability. We are working towards becoming a multi-faceted neuro science facility and this specific Cath Lab can perform a number of micro interventions in arteries."

Veronica de Bruyn and Ryan O’Connor with all the cardiologists at Life Vincent Pallotti - L t o R Veronica de Bruyn, Dr Joe Tyrrell, Ryan O’Connor, DRS TP Pillay, Dave Milne, Zaid Mohamed, Adi Horak, Elwyn Lloyd, Saleem Dawood and Japie du Toit.

She adds that the introduction of this equipment will cement Vincent Life Pallotti's Cardiac Vascular Accident (CVA) protocol as the Cath. Lab. can be fully utilised resulting in very positive outcomes.

"The introduction of the Artis zee biplane system means that Life Vincent Pallotti now has the opportunity to take on more cases and to this end we have invited more cardiologists to join our team."

Multi-axis system

Included with the system is a PACS (Patient Archive Computer System) which allows diagnostic images to be stored and even shared with the hospital's other Cath Lab. The system will cater for all Life Vincent Pallotti's advanced cardio procedural needs including the IC Stent facility, a processing package that enhances the visibility of a deployed stent; ECG-triggered pulsed fluoroscopy which reduces the overall x-ray dose; enhanced 3D imaging applications; and its ability to generate CT-like imaging with syngo DynaCT cardiac images which reduces the need for time-consuming and costly pre-procedural CT scans.

"Its multi-axis system makes it ideal for cardiac procedures in the operating theatre as it offers more angulations than conventional systems as well as flexible working heights and special park positions which allow for easier access to the patient," reports Hufkie.