The optical coherence tomography (OCT), an advanced imaging technology to diagnose and treat heart ailments was launched at the Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre on Tuesday. Speaking to the reporters in Madurai on Tuesday, Dr P Jeyapandian, consultant cardiologist at the hospital said that OCT technique uses catheter equipped with an infrared light to acquire 3D colour images of the blood vessels of the heart. It produces the highest imaging resolution for viewing the heart, which is 10 times higher than ultrasound. To detect the extent of the block, standard practice is to go for a coronary angiogram, but OCT can reconstruct it to a 3D image and can show the full artery, creating an impression like seeing the live heart. With OCT-guided stenting, there are no chances of any error to miss out the diseased portion. “The primary aim of OCT is to optimize the angioplasty procedure so that the long-term results are good. This visualizes the blocked segment clearly and gives an idea about the nature of the fat deposited in the artery. It identifies the exact extent of the fat deposit.”
This new facility will revolutionize heart care in Madurai and surrounding areas as it is much superior in diagnosing coronary heart disease compared to coronary angiography which takes only 2D images, making it difficult to assess the severity of lesion and plaque burden. A cath lab integrated with OCT, would help in on-time diagnosis that could save many lives, as over 60 million people suffer from cardiovascular diseases around the world and three million succumb to it every year.
Date: 18.07.18
