Hospital debuts new interventional suite
In September, a wide range of procedures usually offered only at major medical centers became available at Kalispell Regional Medical Center with the installation of a new digital X-ray system.
According to a press release, the installation of this equipment in a new state-of-the-art angiography and interventional suite means the hospital can provide a nearly endless array of minimally invasive procedures.
Interventional radiology, a subspecialty of diagnostic radiology, provides imaging guidance for these procedures.
Dr. Ben Pomerantz, an interventional radiologist, describes it as “performing surgical-type procedures guided by X-rays through tiny incisions.”
The hospital selected Philips’ new single-plane vascular interventional imaging system for its resolution and clarity. Its wide rotation range allows a complete evaluation of anatomy.
With the capability to perform a full spectrum of vascular and interventional procedures, the system improves the hospital’s workflow. Physicians can personalize settings for each type of procedure while controlling it from the tableside.
“It can be used to create real-time, 3-D impressions of complex vasculature to reduce time, X-ray dose and contrast medium,” interventional radiologist Hugh Cecil said. “It basically serves as a map to the body to allow the interventional radiologist to locate the target site and provide treatment in a minimally invasive way.”
Pomerantz said both clinicians and patients can benefit from the speed and image accuracy of the new X-ray system.
With one in five Americans suffering from one or more forms of vascular disease, technology advancement to diagnose and treat these conditions is critical.
Interventional techniques for these diseases include angiography (imaging inside blood vessels and organs), angioplasty (widening blocked vessels), arterial stenting (inserting a mesh tube) and a variety of medical and mechanical procedures.
For surgical oncologists Dr. David Sheldon and Dr. Sydney Lillard, interventional radiology provides a spectrum of treatment options for cancer treatment.
These include chemoembolization in which drugs are administered directly into a tumor through its blood supply, radioembolization, which delivers radioactive particles into a tumor, and thermal tumor ablation that destroys tumors with heat.
The list grows each year as more and more nonsurgical treatment options are tested and approved.
In the past year, Cecil and Pomerantz added many life-extending and life-saving treatments. For example, interventional radiology destroys the blood supply, called embolizing, to uterine fibroids or varicose veins, replacing traditional surgery.
According to the hospital press release, interventional radiology also can be used to perform biopsies anywhere in the body, open up blocked blood vessels, inject joints, administer medication for chronic back pain and drain abscesses, as well as being used for a large variety of liver and kidney interventions.
“The new suite and Philips equipment will allow our physicians to complete a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures faster with less radiation exposure,” Pomerantz said. “That means patients are off the table and on their way to recovery and discharge much sooner. Bells and whistles aside, the ultimate beneficiary of the new equipment is the patient.”