Cardiologists have successfully performed coronary angioplasty more than 100 km away, between Rouen en Caen. An interesting process to overcome the French territorial inequalities in terms of access to care.
- In Europe, 40% of myocardial infarctions are not treated by coronary angioplasty, mainly because of transport times to an interventional cardiology center.
- This first robotic intervention in Europe carried out over a hundred kilometers away could ultimately improve the care of these patients.
This is a first in Europe. A robot has successfully performed coronary angioplasty more than 100 km away, between Rouen en Caen.
“Many geographical disparities in the management of cardiovascular diseases”
Robocath, a company that markets robotic solutions for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, today announces the success of a long-distance robotic procedure, carried out between the Medical Training Center of Rouen (MTC) and the CHU of Caen (120 km from distance), by professors Eric Durand and Rémi Sabatier. This first long-distance robotic intervention in Europe was performed on an animal model on December 8, 2020.
Pr. Rémi Sabatier, interventional cardiologist at Caen University Hospital and associate professor in telemedicine, says: “there are still many geographical disparities today in the management of cardiovascular diseases”.
“Saving lives in the event of serious vascular accidents”
In Europe, 40% of myocardial infarctions are not treated by coronary angioplasty, mainly because of the transport time to an interventional cardiology centre, although the superiority of angioplasty over fibrinolite therapy has been demonstrated. “This first robotic intervention in Europe carried out over a hundred kilometers away could ultimately improve the care of these patients and save lives in the event of serious vascular accidents (infarction and stroke)”, continues Pr. Rémi Sabatier.
“There are still some challenges to overcome in order to multiply this type of intervention, particularly in terms of training and legal liability, but I am convinced that the future of interventional cardiology today rests on robotics and that its remote connection will greatly accelerate its expansion”, adds Pr. Eric Durand, interventional cardiologist at the Rouen University Hospital.
What does coronary angioplasty involve?
Concretely, coronary angioplasty consists of treating a narrowed coronary artery by dilating it using a probe fitted with an inflatable balloon at its end. This procedure is done under local anesthesia, but requires special monitoring of the patient.
Coronary angioplasty is indicated as a priority in the case of acute coronary syndrome, i.e. unstable angina (within 24 to 48 hours, in order to avoid progression to myocardial infarction), during acute myocardial infarction (to unclog the occluded artery within an ideal period of 3 hours after the onset of symptoms), in the event of failure of thrombolysis (medication to unclog the artery) or in the disease stable coronary artery.
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