ACIST Medical Systems announced that interventional cardiologists and staff have used the company’s contrast delivery system to help diagnose and treat 10 million patients. This system is the first all-in-one, variable-flow technology that gives physicians control over the full range of injection volumes, from small vessels in the coronaries to large vessels in the ventricles and peripheral vasculature.
The system’s widespread adoption in teaching institutions as well as mainstream community based hospitals has demonstrated benefits in reducing costs and complexity and in enhancing patient care.
“The ACIST contrast delivery system was developed to help doctors perform angiography more efficiently and, in turn, facilitate timely and appropriate treatment,” said Robert Wilson, inventor of the ACIST system and professor of Interventional Cardiology at the University of Minnesota. “The system shortens procedures, decreases the amount of dye injected into patients and reduces radiation exposure for health care professionals and patients.”
The ACIST all-in-one system replaces traditional injection methods that rely on the operators’ manual manipulation of a hand injection syringe and stopcocks for small coronary vessels and a fixed-rate power injector for large vessels, as well as manual tracking of contrast use.
The ACIST system features include air column sensors, a unique hand controller and a monitor that tracks and displays contrast usage. The system has air column sensors that automatically stop the procedure when air is detected, helping prevent a potentially serious complication for the patient. The unique hand controller facilitates precise administration of contrast for more consistent imaging with lower contrast amounts, reducing radiation exposure. The hand controller also allows the clinicians to step back from the radiation source during imaging to reduce radiation exposure, as well as deliver contrast without the stress of manually injecting throughout the heart’s vessels – thereby reducing hand fatigue and the potential for carpal tunnel syndrome.
“We are committed to providing best-in-class technology for angiographic imaging. Reaching 10 million procedures with our contrast delivery system is a testament to our product’s effectiveness and efficiency, as well as its ability to reduce radiation exposure for clinicians and patients,” said Thomas Morizio, president and chief operating officer, ACIST Medical Systems. “We are especially proud of the fact that our angiographic system can make a clinical difference while also reducing costs and complexity – essential factors in today’s health care environment.”
