Tips for Buying Cath Lab Parts

Imaging equipment is the core of the cardiac catheterization laboratory. Cardiac catheterization is an invasive procedure that involves inserting a catheter into a blood vessel in the arm or leg, and guiding it to the heart with the aid of a special x-ray machine. Contrast media is injected through the catheter so that x-ray movies of valves, coronary arteries and heart chambers are taken.

Before purchasing, it is important to be aware of the following important information about cath lab parts:

A cath lab is an integrated system of several cath lab parts which can be operated in two different modes:
As fluoroscopic equipment, to guide the insertion of the cardiac catheter and for its navigation to the proper site in the heart.
As a cine x-ray camera for fast filming of the injected contrast media in the heart.
The latest cath lab systems make it possible to acquire 3 dimensional (3D) images by rotational angiography. This new technique involves the rotation of both the x-ray tube cath lab part and the image detector cath lab part, to acquire sequential projections from multiple angles and reconstructing them into a 3D data set.
Cath lab equipment is a combined system of several major cath lab parts as follows.
C-Arm or U-Arm is the largest and the heaviest cath lab part. It is either a floor- mounted or ceiling- suspended arc which carries the x-ray tube and the detector.
The x-ray tube is the cath lab part which generates the powerful x-ray pulses in the cine mode. It should be a heavy-duty tube with high-heat capacity and improved heat dissipation. A good cooling system is essential.
The x-ray detecting device is the most sophisticated and yet the most vulnerable cath lab part. In older cath lab systems an image intensifier is used, but in newer models, a flat panel detector is the modern cath lab part which replaces the image intensifier. It is relatively small and it fits modern electronic systems.
The generator is the high-voltage, high-power source cath lab part which is instrumental in energizing the x-ray tube. It should be well-matched to the x-ray tube, and capable of delivering the full current capacity of the x-ray tube in the cine mode.
The special collimation system, another integral cath lab part, can be set for: best image quality and reduced patients’ radiation dose.
The x-Ray switching and pulse controller is a cath lab part which sets the x-ray generator in on/off sequence, both in the fluoroscope and the cine modes.
A specialized digital image processor with program selector is an important cath lab part that can contribute a lot to the diagnostic value of the cine recording and the fluoroscopic imaging.
The patient table is another vital cath lab part. It is mounted in a fixed installation, electronically integrated into the system and manipulated by the operator.
The operating console in the control room is the cath lab part which controls the entire system.
The cath lab monitors which are mounted in the procedure room are central cath lab parts. The screens display the images, the physiological date, the system parameters etc.
Patient skin dose logging system is the cath lab part which records the estimated patient x-ray dose. This cath lab part is integrated into the system and serves to reduce the x-ray exposure of the patient.
The physiological monitoring system is the cath lab part by which the cardiac and hemodynamic functions are monitored and evaluated. In some procedures it plays a major role.
Another necessary cath lab part is the automatic injector. The function of this injector can be synchronized with the x-ray pulses and the cine system to deliver the contrast media in a timely manner.The physiological monitoring system is the cath lab part by which the cardiac and hemodynamic functions are monitored and evaluated. In some procedures it plays a major role.
Some big medical centers install bi-plane x-ray systems in the cardiac catheterization rooms. In these situations, one C-arm is floor mounted and the second C-arm is ceiling suspended. Each system includes its own unique set of cath lab parts, but the two systems can be synchronized. Such an approach is used mainly for infant cardiac catheterizations to equalize the quantity of injected contrast media by simultaneously acquiring two images at once.

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