New cardiac catheterization lab at Fairview Park Hospital offers latest technologies

The features of the new state-of-the-art Cardiac Catheterization Lab (Cath Lab) at Fairview Park Hospital will go beyond heart catheterizations, giving healthcare providers the ability to handle advanced imaging procedures here at home in Dublin, Georgia.

The newly installed equipment offers the capability of digital X-ray imaging that is optimized for cardiovascular, angiographic and interventional imaging. Cardiologists in the Cath Lab will be able to view inside the body while performing diagnostic procedures and treating potential coronary artery blockages that could cause heart attacks or other serious cardiovascular damage.

In addition, these new upgrades will be used in angiographic procedures to assist physicians in diagnosing and treating a wide range of vascular conditions throughout the body by enabling physicians to better visualize vascular details through all body thickness and view fine vessel detail right to the skin surface of the extremities.

The new design and layout features a digital flat panel detector which allows physicians to perform cardiac, angiographic, vascular, and interventional procedures on one system in one room.

Debbie Lauber, RN, Cardiac Catheterization Lab Director, says the new renovations to the Cath Lab are currently up and running, and will feature the most innovative and advanced technology available in the area.

"This new equipment will be used for cardiac care procedures and diagnostic imaging," Lauber says. "It will allow us to continue to expand the number of procedures we offer here, improve the image quality and decrease the overall length of procedures and radiation from those procedures."

Major features and benefits of the renovation include:

• Revolutionary image quality that allows physicians to visualize the smallest medical instruments and devices such as catheters, guidewires and stents during procedures that require exacting precision.
• The ability to view hard-to-see small blood vessels and anatomy with greater clarity, even in patients who are generally more difficult to image.
• Considerable reduction in overall radiation exposure needed for an exam compared to conventional fluoroscopy systems.