MUMBAI, January 23: Instead of taking a patient to a Catheterization Laboratory, the Cath Lab can be brought to the patient. For the first time in Mumbai, the use of a unique portable cardiac Cath Lab was demonstrated at the Bombay Hospital Institute of Medical Sciences.The demonstration was part of an international conference on new frontiers in clinical cardiology. Today was the second day of the five-day conference inaugurated yesterday. The Cath Lab was created by OEC Medical Systems.
According to Traugotte Wildi, director of cardiology, OEC Medical Systems, Switzerland, the mobile Cath Lab costs only Rs 1.5 crore, against Rs 6 crores of the standard stationary Cath Lab. However, the mobile lab is not intended to replace the stationary lab, he said. The primary benefit of this Cath Lab is that it can be transported easily within the hospital premises. It can also be taken to remote hospitals equipped with a cardiology unit. Wildi explained: ``Angiography has to be performed within the operation
theatre after minimal invasive procedures. The mobile lab can be used here.''
He further stated: ``If a patient develops chest pains a day after angioplasty, the attending cardiologist has to wait until a Cath Lab is free in order to perform an angiography. The Lab can be brought to the patient's bedside. If a patient is brought to the hospital with severe chest pains, the mobile lab can be kept in the emergency room itself.'' The lab takes just 20 minutes to be connected in a new room.
When asked about the reason for the lab being cost effective, Wildi said: ``Compared to the stationary Cath Lab, this on is much smaller. Here removable hard disks are used instead of the films used in the standard lab.'' Spanish cardiologist E Garcia remarked that a Cath Lab will be extremely useful in remote areas and in hospitals where space is the prime concern.
The conference has been organised by B K Goyal, president of the organising committee, Satyavan Sharma, secretary general, and Patrick Whitlow, programme
director.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
