From the March 2016 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
As a result, some experienced physicians are speaking out about the health consequences to protect the next generation of interventionalists and advocate for improved safety measures. One proven safety measure is robotic technology. It allows physicians to perform procedures seated in a radiationshielded interventional cockpit. The physician uses digital controls to advance guidewires and catheters. The PRECISE clinical trial showed that robotics reduces radiation exposure for the primary operator by 95 percent.
Benefits to the patient
Clinical benefits come from the precision in robotic technology, which enhances visualization of the X-ray images. This helps physicians to accurately measure anatomy, which may optimize stent selection. Recent studies show visual estimation of lesion length, which is the most common method, is often inaccurate and can result in the unnecessary placement of a second stent. Robotic technology also allows discrete 1 millimeter movements enabling cardiologists to position stents exactly where the patient needs them. Without robotics, the STLLR trial showed that 47 percent of the time a portion of the lesion is left uncovered by a stent, which leads to increased repeat procedures.
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Building a successful robotics program
Adoption of robotic programs continues to grow. Hospitals are recognizing the value of protection for their staff and investing in the safety of their employees. In addition to the value of protecting cath lab teams, precision and accuracy of stent positioning may reduce operating costs in the cath lab. Imprecision in stent positioning or size selection can result in the use of more stents than necessary, raising the cost per procedure.
The introduction of any new technology requires operator and staff training and may require changes to the workflow. Success requires commitment from everyone involved to maximize the value robotic assistance can bring. When launching a robotics program, all team members are involved to ensure physicians, staff and patients receive the benefit of robotic-assisted PCI.
Robotics is no longer a technology of the future. It is transforming health care, including the practice of interventional cardiology. When considering options to update cath labs with robotics, hospitals should consider both the benefits for patients and the longterm health and safety of their employees. You can obtain references to clinical trials supporting claims herein directly from Corindus by contacting the company at info@corindus.com.
About the author: David Handler is the president and CEO of Corindus Vascular Robotics.Back to HCB News
