Live from the Genesis Cath Lab
Technology Enables Adler Audience To See Procedure In Real Time

The audience sat transfixed.  They were part of a historic moment at the Genesis Heart Institute.  

In a nearby building on the hospital's second floor, cardiologist Nicolas Shammas, M.D., was performing a procedure he had done many times before in the Genesis Cardiac Catheterization Lab.  There was nothing routine about this particular angioplasty, however. 

What was different - and technologically significant - was that an audience of health care professionals watched the live action unfold on a large screen in the Heart Institute's Adler Education Center.  Step by step, they saw the catheter threaded through the female patient's groin and and up into her heart, where a balloon was inflated to open a blocked artery.  Two stents, or small metal coils, were placed to keep it propped open. 

Minute by minute, a captivated audience witnessed the cardiologist, nurses and radiologic technologists work as a team in one of the busiest cath labs in the country.  The technological milestone occurred at Genesis, one of the nation's "100 Most Wired" hospitals and health systems. 

 Dr. Shammas, the teacher, explained.  Members of the audience, the students, asked questions.  Technology made it seem like they were in the same room. 

"The audience was just in awe, mesmerized at what they saw on the screen," says Cindy McGee, Manager of the Cardiac Cath lab, who lead the education effort. 

"It was incredible," adds Dr. Shammas.  "Seeing the procedure live was a very powerful way to educate the audience members.  For them, it was a tremendous experience to see, hear and become absorbed minute by minute in what was going on." 

High-Tech Education 
The live feed was part of last Saturday's 5th Annual Cardiovascular Interventional Symposium - a learning experience pulled together by McGee and her staff who form the Patient Care Area Practice Council. 

"For them to take this new technology and provide people with the opportunity to see a cardiac cath procedure is just so exciting," says Sharon Timmons, Executive Director of the Genesis Heart Institute.  "Millions of nurses have never seen a cath procedure.  It's not something you would typically see in nursing school."  

Dr. Shammas adds, "This involves multi-layers of technology, and it took several very dedicated individuals to get this up and running.  This was truly a historic moment for the cath lab that contributed a higher level of education for these health care professionals."  

The technology was made possible with the help of Philip D. and Henrietta B. Adler, two lifelong philanthropists whose generous bequests made the center a reality.  Their bequest, some wise investing on the part of the Genesis Health Services Foundation and an unprecedented donation by the Medical Staff made the $1.88 million education center a reality several years ago. 

Seeing It "Live"
"We had great interaction with the audience - from the Adler Center to the Cath Lab," Dr. Shammas says.  "They also could hear how we interacted with and comforted the patient, who is awake during the procedure.  The female patient wanted to be  a part of this and was overwhelmed that Genesis had the technological capability to do this."  

McGee says two cameras were positioned in the lab - one fixed and one mobile.  Cameras could show the overall lab or zoom in on the tiny stents or devices that Dr. Shammas wanted to show.  She credits the hard work of several Genesis staff, including: registered nurses Leigh Lykins, Stacey Parker, Matt McClimon and Shannon Mentzer; radiologic technologists Karen Butler, Kasey Davis, Jena Moore and Reid McDonald; and audiovisual technician Jim VanDierendonck.

Dr. Shammas, who has presented heart research to international audiences, says the technology will open many doors for Genesis to present its nationally renowned research and procedures "live" to centers of research across the nation.  "Major conferences across the United States have adopted this style of teaching," he says.  "Now, Genesis has the ability to take our experience and transmit this to major conferences elsewhere.  This will have incredible impact."  

-- Story by Linda Barlow, Genesis