Froedtert & The Medical College Of Wisconsin Among Seven Medical Centers In United States To Test New Heart Imaging Technology

Main Category: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Also Included In: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Article Date: 16 Oct 2007 - 8:00 PST

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Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin is one of just seven major medical centers in the country to test new heart imaging technology. The technology, created by Philips Medical and released to the market in July 2007, could drastically improve the way patients with heart problems are diagnosed. For the first time, live 3D technology has been transitioned to a transesophageal echocardiography probe (TEE), enabling cardiologists, cardiac surgeons and cardiac interventionalists to view new depths of data.

"It was immediately clear that our patients are going to get a more accurate diagnosis as a result of the technology," said Timothy Woods, MD, director of Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin's Valvular Disease Clinic and Echocardiography Laboratory. Some of the first patients Woods evaluated with the technology were those suffering from heart valve problems. "If a patient has mitral valve disease and is going to be operated on, it is crucial that we do everything we can to save the valve. This technology allows the cardiologist and surgeon to better estimate the chances of repairing a valve as opposed to replacing it when surgery is being considered. "

In addition to a more accurate diagnosis for valvular disease patients, Woods found the best uses for the Philips 3D TEE to be in diagnosing conditions related to congenital heart disease and in viewing masses in the heart. The new probe allows physicians to view the entire pathology of the heart. It also offers more perspectives of the heart, including the surgeon's view (a perspective of the mitral valve from the left atrium as well as the left ventricle).

Woods said the real time 3D views of the heart offer the ability to see the heart in 3D at the same time imaging is occurring. Additionally, the new technology allows him to capture the entire image of the heart in just 10 seconds. He can then manipulate the pictures from numerous angles, allowing for a thorough review after the patient has gone home. The previous technology required the cardiologist to piece together thing slices of the heart to re-create its entire structure mentally. During the one-month testing period in September 2007, Woods and his staff used the new probe to help diagnose 15 patients. Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin intends to purchase the technology in early 2008.

According to Philips Medical, the six additional medical centers testing the new technology are:
- The University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago
- Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston
- Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
- The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland
- Duke University Medical Center, Raleigh Durham

About Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin:

Froedtert Hospital is a 450-bed academic medical center staffed by faculty of the Medical College of Wisconsin. The hospital employs more than 1,400 registered nurses and is one of just 230 hospitals in the country to receive the prestigious Magnet designation by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. It serves as an eastern Wisconsin referral center for advanced medical practice care in 37 specialties and subspecialties. It is a major training and research facility with more than 1,000 medical, nursing and health technical students in training and over 2,000 active clinical trials each year. Froedtert, part of Froedtert & Community Health, operates the region's only adult Level One Trauma Center.

For more information, please visit:
Froedtert Hospital
and Philips Medical.

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