At ACC 2007 in New Orleans Philips Medical Systems showcased its portfolio of tools designed to save time in the overall treatment of heart disease patients, including critical heart attack patients. By integrating patient medical information across hospitals, the systems have been designed to accelerate diagnosis and treatment and provide enhanced patient comfort and safety.  

Philips highlighted the following:

• Xper Information Management, a new cath lab workflow solution that speeds and simplifies reporting, scheduling, inventory and data management for cardiovascular professionals;
• The Philips HeartStart MRx Monitor/Defibrillator helps realize the industry’s recommended 90-minute “door-to-balloon” protocol—and goes further to support “discovery-to-balloon” by enabling hospitals to organize their resources—before a patient even arrives.  Pre-hospital transmission of the 12-Lead ECG helps avoid unnecessary delays to treatment. With the MRx, a paramedic can quickly acquire and wirelessly transmit a suspected myocardial infarction patient’s ECG data to the emergency department and/or other locations, such as directly to the interventional cardiologist.  Prior to the patient’s arrival, clinicians can use the transmitted ECG to assess, and if needed, prepare for lifesaving treatment such as Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) performed in the cath lab, or thrombolytic therapy. Once inside the emergency department, the MRx monitor/defibrillator also now provides the capability to communicate real-time patient data wirelessly on the Philips IntelliVue Clinical Network;
• Philips Brilliance CT 64-channel scanner, Step & Shoot Cardiac reduces radiation dose with better clarity in a shorter breath hold. This new feature provides high-quality images of the coronary arteries and heart anatomy at low dose levels. The Wisconsin Heart Hospital found that the Step & Shoot Cardiac feature delivered an 80-percent dose reduction versus retrospective helical CT angiography techniques; and
• Philips showcased the Ambient Experience Cath Lab.  The suite’s unique design offers a patient-friendly environment with personalized lights, themes and music, while helping eliminate unnecessary physical barriers in the imaging suite for better patient relaxation and interaction with clinical staff, reduced clutter and improved workflow.