Aug 16, 2020
Abbott Divisional Vice President
of Vascular Clinical Development, Dr. Richard Rapoza, tells
listeners about a newer technology for vascular health: optical
coherence tomography (OCT).
He discusses the advantages of this approach, explaining
Abbott is a medical technology company dedicated to producing life-saving and quality-of-life technologies and Dr. Rapoza is working to raise awareness of what optical coherence tomography can offer the health field. He describes it as an instrument that shoots infrared lasers into a patient's arterial system and takes spiral pictures of the arterial wall. It provides great detail of the arterial composition and takes measurements. Finally, it offers a good picture of how to treat the patient.
He provides a few examples,
explaining how a doctor can use it to see what the cost of a heart
attack is—and can also clear and see behind the clot as well as
find the spot that ruptured and caused the clot and repair it. The
more common way of treating vessels through a heart angiography is
where technicians use an x-ray with injectable dye: this only
provides a two-dimensional view. So physicians take a guess at the
diameter and length before they introduce an angiography stent, for
example.
Dr. Rapoza explains this along with other angiography risks and
describes how OTC can work alongside a traditional stent to produce
better results. He also describes additional advancements in this
technology such as ways to address problems of blood flow in the
feet from diabetic damage as well as other promising
uses.
For more, see Abbott's
website as well
as
a press release
describing their
findings.
Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK