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This new technology at Lovelace helps doctors gets a better view of a patient's heart
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The heart wants what it wants, and a local heart hospital wanted the newest and best technology.
That’s why Lovelace Heart Hospital installed the nation’s first GE HealthCare Allia Image Guided System (IGS) Pulse.
How the IGS pulse system works
The IGS pulse system is a machine designed to make heart surgeries easier while minimizing X-ray exposure time for both patients and doctors. According to Kate Muller, director of the cardiac and electrophysiology (EP), the machine cost $800,000. The console, table and required renovations for the room cost around an additional $400,000.
“This machine is the hallmark of our room,” said Muller. “People always say they need to go out of state for procedures and that’s simply not the case anymore. We have the training and the equipment to better serve all the patients in New Mexico.”
What a Lovelace doctor says
Dr. Yaw A. Adjei-Poku, an electrophysicist at the Lovelace Heart Hospital, is used to spending his days observing heart patterns and behavior. On a normal day, Adjei-Poku spends his time trying to correct heart issues like atrial fibrillation, a rapid and irregular heartbeat condition that can cause poor blood flow, strokes and heart failure. He said the machine helps to optimize X-rays and increase efficiency during surgeries.
“When we’re doing these types of procedures, X-rays are one of the most crucial parts,” Adjei-Poku said. “This machine helps to minimize X-ray exposure for nurses and patients. The most critical piece of this is that the longer a patient is in X-rays, the higher the chance of issues like radiation burn.”
With the IGS, X-ray exposure is reduced by 33%, according to the GE Healthcare website. The machine also provides dose awareness, which can alert doctors to the amount of X-ray exposure in the room. The machine can automatically adjust itself to angle away from X-rays so patients and operators do not receive unnecessary exposure.
“The X-ray image quality is higher so it can help us see small things like wires or catheters inside the body,” Adjei-Poku said. “The machine can also rotate around the table and sideways to different vantage points to help us see things at a better angle.”
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For patients, the machine means faster and more efficient procedures. According to the IGS website, procedure times can be reduced by 28% with the machine.
According to Muller, the ergonomic design makes it easier to use.
With a small flick of his wrist on a knob attached to the console of the IGS, Adjei-Poku can rotate the machine. He can also gently slide the table attached to the machine back and forth with little more than a small motion. He said the machine gives him the best vantage point for surgery.
Adjei-Poku’s favorite changes to the EP lab come from the console of the IGS, which has a customizable screen. Doctors are able to save their preferences on to the console. If a doctor switches cases, another doctor can easily come into the lab and toggle the machine to work under their pre-saved customizations.
The machine was introduced to Lovelace Heart Hospital at the end of April. Since then, it has been used on over 125 patients.
“Because it’s a new room and a new machine, everyone wants to work with it and wants to do a lot of cases,” Muller said.
Adjei-Poku believes the machine came at the right time, as he’s noticed an uptick in cases in recent years.
“As technology advances, people can monitor themselves easier now with Apple Watches and Fitbits. They might get an alert about their heartbeat and they have the tools to track that and then come in and get an evaluation,” he said.
Adjei-Poku also said he has noticed that the demographic in cases has shifted, too. People previously thought that heart conditions only affected older people and were likely not taking their heart health seriously as a result of that line of thought.
“Atrial fibrillation affects everyone, not just older folks,” he said. “My youngest case so far was a 22 year old. A lot of athletes come in for this, too. More people may have it than they think,” said Adjei-Poku. “I always encourage patients to talk to a provider when they have any concerns.”
Doctors and nurses at Lovelace Heart Hospital hope the recent addition of the IGS helps patients in New Mexico have confidence in their healthcare system.
“The Heart Hospital gives quality care,” Adjei-Poku said. “Doctors from all over the world come here to learn from us, which is a testament to what we are doing. We want people to know they can get all the help they need here.”
