Brijeshwar Maini, M.D., and Brian Bethea, M.D., from Tenet Florida’s structural heart program, explain the importance of building a good heart team and how that team should interact. They gave a presentation on image guidance for structural heart procedures at TCT 2016, but focused repeatedly on the need for close collaboration to be successful. Read more in the article "Requirements for Interventional Echocardiographers."

Krishna Rocha-Singh, M.D., Prairie Vascular Institute, Springfield, Ill., explains advancements in device therapy for hypertension at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) 2016 annual meeting. He was involved in the SYMPLICITY HTN-3 denervation trial and is the principal investigator for the ongoing Rox Coupler arteriovenous device trial.  Watch the VIDEO “New Approaches to Denervation Therapy.”

Studies have shown transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has an increased risk of stroke and cerebral damage due to emboli released during the procedure. Recent clinical data show the extent of this damage on MRI. Several TAVR embolic protection systems are being developed to reduce this damage. This video explains one of those systems. Read about trial data presented at TCT 2016 "Delirium Significantly Associated With Brain Lesions in Patients Post-TAVR."  Read the article, “TAVR Embolic Protection Did Not Reduce Emboli Brain Lesions,” which was a second trial presented at TCT 2016.  

With quality of care and cost efficiency at the top of your mind, there is no room in your hospital for waste from high-value supplies. However, managing your critical supplies in the cath lab can be a challenge. How can you get the supply waste in your facility under control? Watch this short video to learn how an automated inventory management solution could help you reduce the waste in your hospital while improving your total cost of care. For more information visit www.cardinalhealth.com.

This video, provided by Shockwave Medical, demonstrates the Lithoplasty System. It uses ultrasonic waves to treatment calcified plaque in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). It was cleared by the U.S. FDA in September 2016. The technology is the first of its kind in interventional cardiovascular medicine. Using similar lithotripsy technology that is already in use to break up kidney stones, the balloon catheter cracks and breaks up calcium in vessel walls, without the need to over inflate the balloon, which can lead to extensive vessel damage.  Read the article "FDA Clears Lithoplasty Balloon That Shatters Calcified Lesions With Ultrasound."

Find updated information and a live demonstration of the technology at TCT 2018 in this VIDEO.

You have bigger priorities than managing inventory. Patient safety, quality care and clinician satisfaction top the list. But automated technology can help you improve the way you purchase, control and manage your cath lab inventory, allowing you to positively support your top priorities – and your hospital’s overall performance. For more information, watch this archived webinar on inventory management in the cath lab

Interview with Rebecca Hahn, M.D., FASE, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, at the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) 2016 meeting. She is an expert in the new subspecialty of interventional echo and discussed considerations for hospitals thinking of creating interventional echo programs to help guide complex transcatheter structural heart procedures in the cath lab or hybrid OR. Read the article “Requirements for Interventional Echocardiographers.”  Also, watch the related VIDEO "Transcatheter Structural Heart Procedure Navigation Technology Advances."

DAIC Editor Dave Fornell takes a tour of some of the trends and interesting new technologies from the vendor booths on the expo floor at the 2016 meeting of the American College of Cardiology (ACC). 

MDbuyline clinical analyst Tom Watson, BS, RCVT, explains the new hemodynamic system technology trends at ACC.16. All technologies are being increasingly integrated into the electronic medical record.  Read the article “Improving Cath Lab Efficiency With Today’s Hemodynamic Systems.” 

Chandan Devireddy, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta and an investigator in the PARTNER trials, discusses the positive late-breaking PARTNER II and IIA data presented at ACC.16. Among the key measures in these trials was the stroke rate, which is now the same as surgery.

Gregg Stone, M.D., director of cardiovascular research and education at Columbia University Medical Center / New York-Presbyterian Hospital, explains ABSORB Trial data showing bioresorbable stents had poor outcomes in small coronary vessels. This might be included as a restriction in the instructions for use of the Abbott Absorb stent, which is currently pending FDA final review.  Read the related article "Questions Remain on Future of Bioresorbable Stents." Also, read the article "FDA Approves First Totally Bioresorbable Stent."

Managing inventory in the procedural area is often a challenge that creates substantial waste and inefficiency that impacts your bottom line. Understanding how to overcome the top barriers allows you to spend more time on patient care and less time on tackling your supplies. Learn how you can manage inventory more effectively with Cardinal Health Inventory Management Solutions. For more information visit cardinalhealth.com/cims.

DAIC Editor Dave Fornell offers his choices for the most innovative new interventional cardiovascular technologies presented on the expo floor and in sessions at the 2015 Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) meeting. 

Robert Schwartz, M.D., medical director at the Minnesota Heart Institute, explains new applications for denervation therapies for hypertension, heart failure and other disease. 

Sunil Rao, M.D., associate professor of medicine and a member in the Duke University Clinical Research Institute, a leading proponent of radial access offers insights as to where radial access is at in the United States. Radial access is rapidly growing and was a topic of late-breaking trials presented at the 2015 Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) annual meeting. Read the article "Radial Access Adoption in the United States."
 

Dr. Stephen Worthley, Ph.D., director of the cardiac cath labs at Royal Adelaide Hospital at the University of Adelaide in Australia, and co-principal investigator of Medtronic's recently launched international drug-filled stent (DFS) clinical trial, explains DFS the new technology. This was among the top innovations presented at the 2015 Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) annual meeting.

Manesh Patel, M.D., associate professor of medicine, and director of interventional cardiology and the cath labs at Duke University, explains the innovations in interventional heart failure technologies, including the Aortix percutaneous heart pump. This was among the innovations presented at the 2015 Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) annual meeting. Read more on this device.

DAIC Editor Dave Fornell shares some of the most innovative new technologies shown on the expo floor and discusses in sessions at the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) 2015 annual meeting.

Interview at the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) annual meeting with Federico Asch, M.D., M.D., FACC, FASE, associate director of the echocardiography core lab at Medstar Health Research Institute and assistant professor of medicine (cardiology) at Georgetown University. He explains how ultrasound might have a roll in the future for breaking up clots and targeted delivery of gene and drug therapies.