Cath Lab

Cath Lab: An Examination Room In A Hospital or Clinic
 

Catheterization laboratories, or cath labs, are examination rooms in hospitals, clinics, and diagnostic centres where various operations, such as ablation, angiography, angioplasty, pacing device implantation, etc., are carried out. However, a catheterization lab is not the same as an operating room. Surgical procedures on the heart, such as heart bypass operations, are performed in an operating theatre while the patient is under general anaesthesia. On the other hand, individuals undergoing operations in a cath lab may be conscious and will not be put under the influence of general anaesthesia throughout such treatments. The management of a catheterization lab is often handled by a team consisting of a variety of professionals, with the cardiologist serving as the group's leader.

What Is Mean By Cath Lab?
 

A cardiac catheterization lab sometimes referred to as a "cardiac cath lab," is a specialised hospital chamber in which physicians carry out diagnostic and therapeutic operations that are only minimally invasive in order to detect and treat cardiovascular illness. Instead of having to operate on a patient to get access to their heart and vascular system, cardiac cath lab treatments may often be conducted using small, flexible tubes called catheters. In a cath lab, there is specialised imaging equipment that may be used to see the arterial system and evaluate how effectively blood is able to flow to and from the heart. The medical team can more accurately evaluate and treat artery blockages and other disorders with the use of this information.

Interventional cardiologists are cardiac physicians who have received education and training exclusively in the use of catheters to conduct cardiovascular treatments over a period of one to two years. Interventional cardiologists have a subspecialty in the treatment of cardiovascular disease and are considered specialists in this field. Instruments are manoeuvred through the body's arteries in order to accomplish these operations, which include angioplasty and stenting. These interventional techniques, which need just a small incision in the patient, may often provide the same results as open surgery for many people.

During interventional procedures that take place in the catheterization laboratory, cath lab nurses and technicians are also essential members of the care team. These nurses will be actively engaged in your care from the moment you check in for your treatment, while the technicians will provide assistance to the interventional cardiologist doing the operation. In the catheterization lab, the nurses and technologists work together to keep an eye on your condition and look for any changes that may require immediate medical attention. They do this by watching the monitors that display your heart rate and rhythm, and they let the attending physician know if they notice anything unusual.

Cath Lab Equipment
 

In a catheterization laboratory (or "cath lab"), medical professionals conduct examinations and procedures that are only minimally invasive in order to detect and treat conditions such as cardiovascular disorders. Catheters are thin, flexible tubes that are often used in treatments that are carried out in a cath lab as an alternative to open surgery in order to get access to the patient's heart and blood vessels. In general, catheterization labs include the following:

• 1. Defibrillator
• 2. Angioplasty balloons
• 3. Injector pump
• 4. Viewing monitors
• 5. Flat panel detector
• 6. Image intensifier
• 6. Patient table
   

For fluoroscopic imaging, the majority of catheterization laboratories only contain a single X-ray generating source and an X-ray image intensifier. These are single-plane cath labs that may be positioned either on the floor or the ceiling. Cine film is used in cath laboratories that are older in order to capture the information (these are analogue cath labs). On the other hand, since the early 2000s, the majority of newly built facilities have embraced digital technology. In addition, there are bi-plane or dual-plane cath laboratories available on the market. Dual cath labs are equipped with two C-arms, either both of which are attached to the ceiling or one of which is mounted to the ceiling while the other is installed on the floor. During operations like cardiac angioplasty, for instance, the cath lab's dual X-ray source and detector provide simultaneous two-plane imaging. Cath labs are produced by the majority of the leading producers of medical imaging equipment. There are catheterization laboratories available from General Electric, Philips, and Siemens, in addition to Canon Medical (former Toshiba).

Cath Lab Machine Working Principle
 

The cath lab machine working principle includes:

• 1. Diagnostic Cardiac Catheterization: The procedure begins with the percutaneous insertion of a catheter into an artery (often in the upper thigh or wrist), which is then guided along the arterial highway to the heart, where a specific dye is injected into the coronary arteries to expose any blockages.

• 2. Biopsy: A diagnostic operation that involves obtaining a tissue sample of the myocardium from the ventricle of the heart. This may help in the diagnosis of a disease process (such as myocarditis, cardiomyopathy, and so on), as well as in the monitoring of rejection after a heart transplant.

• 3. Atherectomy: If the plaque that is discovered in an artery has calcified and hardened, a rotating atherectomy catheter may be used by a cardiologist, which includes, pulverise the plaque into harmless tiny particles that are flushed away by the bloodstream, an olive-shaped diamond burr that spins at a very high speed. In a manner somewhat dissimilar to this, a laser atherectomy device may also be used.

• 4. Angioplasties using balloons (also known as percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, abbreviated PTCA): A coronary blockage is treated by inserting a catheter that has a balloon attached to the tip of it. As the balloon is inflated, the plaque is broken up and the walls of the coronary conduit are stretched. This results in an increase in the amount of blood that is able to flow to the heart muscle.

• 5. Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI): This is a non-surgical treatment that employs catheters and very thin wires to treat coronary artery disease-related stenosis, which is a narrowing of the coronary arteries of the heart. This condition is caused by coronary artery disease. People who suffer from angina and have no other therapeutic choices are candidates for this procedure, which provides an alternative to bypass surgery.

• 6. Septal Closure Devices: To repair abnormalities in the atrial septum without surgical intervention, a Nitinol wire mesh device that is filled with polyester thread is used. This device is constructed of nickel and titanium (Nitinol). This method is effective in closing a variety of abnormalities, including a patent foramen ovale (PFO) and an atrial septal defect (ASD), two of the most frequent types.

• 7. Stenting: After balloon angioplasty, a tiny tube made of metal mesh called a stent is inserted into the coronary artery and left there to prevent the artery from shutting again and causing more damage (restenosis). There are other stents called drug-eluting stents that are coated with a specific medicine to assist further prevent the coronary arteries from being narrowed again. Similar to other coronary stents, it is kept in place permanently and gradually delivers a medication that stops the buildup of tissue that causes restenosis. Before your surgery, we will talk to you about the many clinical and anatomic considerations that go into determining which kind of stent is going to be most effective for treating your condition.

• 8. Thrombectomy: Before angioplasty or stenting can take place, there are many different kinds of catheters that may be used to remove debris from inside an artery if it is discovered that the artery contains loose material.