In the current economy where hospitals are tightening their belts to help get through tough times, technology can aid in cost cutting by increasing physician and staff efficiency.

There is growing interest in going beyond using ventricular assist devices (VADs) just for end-stage heart failure and expanding use for therapeutic recovery in patients with cardiogenic shock, stage III heart failure and to increase perfusion during acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

The use of remote, prehospital ECG transmission systems by emergency medical services (EMS) can help quickly identify ST-elevated myocardial infarctions (STEMI) and allow earlier activation of the cath lab prior to the patient’s arrival at the hospital. Users of these systems say earlier diagnosis and cath lab activation is key to significantly reduce door-to-balloon (D2B) times.


There are many avenues for the improvement of cath lab inventory control to become more efficient with the emphasis being not faster, but smarter, avoiding waste, and without jeopardizing patient safety. Many different methods are now available to assist in managing inventory.
Terumo's radial access sheath. transradial artery access.
The Terumo Glide Sheath helps speed radial access. The sheath has a hydrophilic coating to aid insertion.
Terumos Optitorque Jacky-tip catheter is said to be ideal for radial access procedures, because its shape enables both left and right coronary entry without the need for catheter exchanges.

Interventionalists using radial instead of femoral access say it significantly cuts bleeding complications, infection rates, readmissions and aids patient comfort and ambulation.

July 20, 2009 - ATS Medical Inc. today announced the first commercial use of the new ATS CryoMaze 10-S Surgical Cryoablation Probe for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias.


There has been a growing trend in electrophysiology toward remote, home monitoring of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD), cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices, pacemakers and implantable cardiac monitors. These systems were displayed prominently on the show floor and discussed in several sessions in May at Heart Rhythm 2009 in Boston.

July 17, 2009 – AGA Medical Corp. received European CE mark approval for its AMPLATZER vascular plug, AVP 4, which is indicated for arterial and venous embolizations in the peripheral vasculature.

July 17, 2009 – Medtronic announced today the completion of a 12-month follow-up in the STOP-AF (Sustained Treatment of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation) clinical trial evaluating the first cryoballoon catheter technology designed to treat paroxysmal atrial fibrillation: the Medtronic Arctic Front CryoAblation Catheter System.

July 17, 2009 – Medtronic announced today the first enrollments in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) substudy of the global PANORAMA registry.

Dr. Raed Sweidan, consultant electrophysiologist and head of the EP Department at King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, enrolled the first patient, who received a Medtronic EnRhythm MRI SureScan pacing system.

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