Long Beach Memorial Advances Care of Coronary Artery Disease With New Optical Coherence Tomography Platform

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) System

The MemorialCare Heart and Vascular Institute (MHVI) at Long Beach Memorial has acquired the C7-XR™ OCT Intravascular Imaging System. The C7-XR System is a leading imaging technology platform that aids physicians in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), the C7-XR System utilizes near-infrared light to create images that go beyond older coronary imaging technologies - such as fluoroscopy and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) - offering cardiologists an assessment method with enhanced clarity for their patients with coronary artery disease.

The St. Jude Medical C7-XR System allows physicians at Long Beach Memorial to visualize and measure important vessel characteristics otherwise invisible or difficult to assess with previous intracoronary imaging technology. The imaging capabilities of the C7-XR System assist physicians in stent selection by providing them with precise measurements of lesion dimensions and vessel size and structure.

“The C7-XR System can be especially important for the assessment of stent placement because the high-resolution images show precisely how the stent is holding the artery open and whether it is positioned correctly against the artery wall, optimizing treatment and follow-up strategies,” said Rex Winters, M.D., Medical Director of Invasive Technology, MemorialCare Heart and Vascular Institute at Long Beach Memorial.

By acquiring this new technology, MHVI will be able to continue providing the highest quality of care, better diagnosis and first-rate treatment for cardiac patients in the region. The OCT imaging technology will join the list of the many diagnostic testing available to patients, such as electrocardiogram, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and a cardiac nuclear study, making MHVI a premiere institute for advanced heart and vascular care.

In addition to guiding stent selection, the C7-XR System provides physicians with post-stenting information, potentially minimizing the risk of repeat revascularization. Repeat revascularization would mean the patient would have to have another surgery to restore blood flow to an organ or tissue. At follow-up, the OCT technology provides detailed information regarding the inner lining of the vessel and whether there is a reoccurrence of the blood vessel narrowing.

The OCT technology platform creates images with 10 times the resolution of intravascular ultrasound technology. The superior resolution and depth of focus found in OCT images aids in optimizing stent selection, evaluating stent apposition and the precise assessment of lesion morphology.

The C7-XR System with the C7 Dragonfly™ Imaging Catheter was launched in Europe in May 2009 and follows the M3 OCT Imaging System had been the only commercially available intracoronary OCT imaging device in the world. The C7-XR Coronary Imaging System is commercially available in the U.S.

Additional information about the C7-XR OCT Intravascular Imaging System and companion C7 Dragonfly Imaging Catheter can be found by visiting sjm.com.

The MemorialCare Heart and Vascular Institute at Long Beach Memorial is ranked by the state in the top one percent of California’s 500 hospitals, includes three operating rooms designed specifically for cardiovascular surgery, recovery areas, 23 cardiac intensive care and step-down patient rooms, telemetry services, cardiac nuclear medicine, non-invasive procedure areas and catheterization laboratories. The Institute has dedicated programs including the Center for Women’s Cardiac Health, cardiac rehabilitation, heart rhythm management and device therapy, pacemaker and defibrillator lead extractions, heart failure including left ventricular assist device therapy, adult and pediatric invasive interventional and non-invasive diagnostic cardiology, minimally invasive cardiac surgery with robotics, cardiac imaging and clinical research. More than 500 cardiac surgeries are performed annually at MHVI.