Ultrasound Catheter, CT Software Developed for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation Procedures

A new ultrasound catheter has been developed for use with real-time volumetric intracardiac echocardiography (ICE).

Real-time ICE provides high quality, dose-free imaging during interventional procedures, and the Acuson AcuNav V catheter, developed by Siemens Healthcare (Erlangen, Germany) is especially useful during transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) surgery. By using the volumetric ICE catheter, clinicians can perform TAVI procedures while the patient is under conscious sedation instead of general anesthesia. The catheter is also useful during electrophysiology (EP) ablation procedures.

Computed tomography (CT) systems also provide support for minimally invasive TAVI procedures. Siemens Healthcare has developed new software that helps physicians determine the right valve size for the patient and establish the precise angle at which the new valve must be inserted even before the intervention in the cardiac catheterization laboratory. This saves time and lessens the contrast agent dose needed for the patient during intervention. To select an appropriate artificial heart valve, clinicians must determine the exact dimensions of the aortic annulus. The syngo CT cardiac function--valve pilot application, in combination with three-dimensional (3D) CT imaging, automatically detects the annulus plane and determines the precise measurements of the annulus as the case is opened.

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