The American College of Cardiology (ACC) is reporting that a virtual reality simulator is a good way for physicians to learn how to perform risky catheter procedures such as carotid angiography. The study, to be published in the May 2, 2006, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, investigated how a virtual reality simulator, the Procedicus Vascular Interventional System Trainer (VIST), a product of Mentice AB of Gothenburg, Sweden, influenced clinical performance of twenty clinicians. According to the press release, “cardiologists committed fewer catheter errors, while performing the virtual procedure in less time, and subjecting the virtual patient to less X-ray imaging and smaller injections of contrast agent during the final run compared to the first one.”

The American College of Cardiology press release…

The system homepage at Mentice…

The product brochure (.pdf)…

via MedGadget

A case of acute pleuropericarditis, which occurred after apparently successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for chronic total occlusion of the right coronary artery, is reported.

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The Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) will be host to approximately 5,000 medical specialists from around the world when the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) holds its 31st Annual Scientific Meeting in Toronto March 30 to April 4, 2006. This is the first time the meeting has been held at an international venue.

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Presentation about Litigation on Stent Markets (2003 year)

PPT file

Cordis Corporation, a Johnson & Johnson company, announced that U.S. District Judge Sue Robinson 27 March upheld two March 2005 jury verdicts that Cordis’ pioneering patents for balloon expandable stents were valid and infringed by Boston Scientific Corporation and Medtronic, Inc. stents.

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A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (ACC/AHA/SCAI Writing Committee to Update the 2001 Guidelines for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention)

 Key Points

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Use of coronary stents that release the drugs sirolimus or paclitaxel produced similar results in patients with new coronary artery lesions, according to a study in the February 22 issue of JAMA.

Stents that release sirolimus or paclitaxel have been known to be more effective than bare metal stents in improving angiographic (examination of the blood vessels using x-rays) and clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary revascularization (procedures such as angioplasty in which a catheter-guided balloon is used to open a narrowed coronary artery). These drugs are effective after these procedures because they inhibit the growth of cells in blood vessels. It has not been clear if one drug-releasing stent is more effective than another, according to background information in the article.

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Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered an alternative way to produce heparin, a drug commonly used to stop or prevent blood from clotting.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved revised instructions for use (IFU) for the CYPHER® Sirolimus-eluting Coronary Stent. The labeling now reflects FDA’s review of clinical trial data that suggests there is no increased risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack) with the use of overlapping CYPHER® Stents in comparison to bare metal stents. This labeling change is based on a retrospective analysis of several clinical studies of overlapping CYPHER® Stents examining more than 900 patients.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved revised instructions for use (IFU) for the CYPHER(R) Sirolimus-eluting Coronary Stent. The labeling now reflects FDA’s review of clinical trial data that suggests there is no increased risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack) with the use of overlapping CYPHER(R) Stents in comparison to bare metal stents. This labeling change is based on a retrospective analysis of several clinical studies of overlapping CYPHER(R) Stents examining more than 900 patients.

The CYPHER(R) Stent is the only drug-eluting stent with this new label.

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This is the third set of guidelines produced by the British Cardiovascular Intervention Society and the British Cardiac Society.

Published in the Heart 2005;91(suppl_6):vi1-vi27

Keywords: percutaneous coronary intervention; guidelines; training; standards

Surgeons at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center are the first in the New York City metropolitan area to successfully implant into the brain arteries a new stent specifically designed to treat high-risk stroke patients who have not previously responded to medical therapy. The Wingspan™ Stent System is used for those individuals diagnosed with intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD) — excess plaque buildup in the brain arteries.

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PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate virtual reality (VR) simulation for endovascular training of surgeons inexperienced in this technique. METHODS: Twenty consultant vascular surgeons were divided into those who had performed >50 endovascular procedures (e.g. aortic and carotid stent) as primary operator (n=8), and those having performed <10 procedures (n=12). To test for endovascular skill rather than procedural knowledge, all subjects performed a renal artery balloon angioplasty and stent procedure. The simulator uses real tools with active force feedback, and provides a realistic image of the virtual patient. Surgeons with endovascular skills performed two repetitions and those without completed six repetitions of the same task. The simulator recorded time taken for the procedure, the amount of contrast fluid used and total fluoroscopy time.

PubMed Abstract

CME Program from TCTMD Web site (require free registration)

The Growing Body of Drug-Eluting Stent Data: A CE-Certified Webcast Clinical Trials and Real-World Results
 Estimated time to complete activity: 1.5 hours

Target Audience. This educational activity has been developed for interventional cardiologists, interventional cardiology fellows, cardiac catheterization nurses, and technologists.

Accreditation/Designation of Credit Statement. The Health Science Center for Continuing Medical Education designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.5 category 1 credits toward the AMA Physician’s Recognition Award. Each physician should claim only those credits that he/she actually spent in the activity.

AReport of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task
Force on Practice Guidelines (ACC/AHA/SCAI Writing Committee to Update the 2001
Guidelines for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention)

Full document in PDF (121 pages)