University Hospitals Galway (UHG) in Ireland has carried out the first Robotic Guided Coronary Intervention. The innovative procedure combines the benefits of coronary intervention with the precision of robotics, offering a range of benefits to patients. The new technology is used in stent procedures to relieve blockages in the arteries of the heart. It allows for greater precision in positioning stents, allowing the Interventional Cardiologists to move the stent a millimetre at a time.

It also allows the medical team to have an enhanced, close up view of the angiographic images and information during the entire procedure. The scientific breakthrough allows Interventional Cardiologists to use the robot as an extension of their own hand, allowing for robotic precision and details visualization when positioning of guide catheters, guidewires and balloon/stent catheters.

“Robotic innovation has come a long way in the last decade. And we in Galway are delighted to have performed the first Robotic Guided Coronary Intervention in Ireland and the UK.”, said Prof Faisal Sharif, who carried out the first procedure in UHG. The Consultant Cardiologist welcomed the addition of the CorPath Robotic Angioplasy as a game changer.

“The main advantage of robotics is that it is safe and very precise in stent placement. It allows the accurate placement for up to 1mm at a time,” he said. The use of robotics in the procedure will also benefit staff, reducing their exposure to radiation. “Traditionally, the coronary stent placement procedure is performed in the Cardiac Cath Lab resulting in staff  exposure to radiation. The second main advantage of using Robotics is the  reduction in radiation exposure for the staff.”

“We recently successfully completed the first case and going forward we will be performing these procedures regularly,” added Prof Sharif.

Source: https://www.saolta.ie/