Magnetically guided catheterisation
Niobe®
Magnetic guidance replaces wires
External magnetic guidance replaces internal guide wires
What is catheterisation?
The catheter is a short, flexible tube which is placed in the heart, typically to dilate a narrowed artery (angioplasty) instead of resorting to surgery or to detect blockages in the blood vessels leading from the heart and to assess the functioning of the heart itself, as part of a coronary angiogram (also referred to as a dye test).
Catheterisation is an important procedure, widely used for both diagnosis and treatment of many heart conditions.
Does it involve surgery?
The use of a catheter can avoid open surgery, but it still has to be placed in the correct position. In most hospitals and cardiac centres around the world this is done by inserting the catheter into the groin, or sometimes the armpit and then guiding it into position with wires, using X-ray based imaging techniques.
There is always some risk involved in any such procedure, but this must be balanced against the potential benefits of avoiding open surgery and the value of the diagnostic information obtained.
The Niobe® system represents a major advance in heart care by abolishing the use of guide wires. Instead the patient lies between two large magnetic coils, which are used to manipulate small magnets integrated into the tip of the soft and flexible catheter.
The surgeon views the catheter on his monitor and re-aligns the magnetic field, to guide the catheter very accurately, to the millimetre, into the heart chamber. The electrophysiologist can advance and retract the catheter in the heart with a separate control module.
The strong magnetic field and special flexible catheter ensure particularly stable contact with the heart muscle. In addition, the catheters used are extremely soft and flexible to minimise trauma to the heart and blood vessel walls.
X-ray exposure is considerably reduced for doctor and patient alike.
Treatment applications for Niobe® include atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and AV nodal reentry tachycardia.
Note: MHL has no contractual or financial relationship with Strereotaxis, the manufacturers of the Niobe® system.
For full details visit the Stereotaxis web site. See BBC Video on stroke prevention
In each case the clinician decides whether to use Niobe® or treat manually, depending upon an individual assessment of the patient including the size of the atrium, secondary disorders, general condition and the course of any irregular heart rhythm. Where Niobe® is used, the specialist’s experience plays a vital role in analysing and co-ordinating the information provided by the various systems: X-rays, stereotaxis, the mapping system (Carto, NavX) and the electrical signals.
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