World's Newest Cardiac Technology
11/14/03

Waco, Texas—Kent A. Keahey, CEO and President of Providence Healthcare Network, announced the installation of the revolutionary Niobe Magnetic Navigation System in the Catheterization Lab of Providence Health Center. The technology application of this system, already in use, makes the Providence Coronary Intervention Lab only the second in the world, and the Providence Electrophysiology Lab only the fifth in the nation.

The Niobe System introduces to healthcare a technology children have been using in home video games for years. Youth gather around their monitors using joysticks to speed racecars through the Indy 500 . . .or to score a touchdown for their favorite college football team. Today, at Providence, cardiologists use this exact approach to navigate medical devices, such as catheters and guidewires, through our patients’ cardiovascular systems to designated target sites within the heart.

Twin computer-controlled magnets, weighing more than two tons each, are moved into position in order to create a magnetic field within the lab. Once in place, cardiologists use the system’s computerized joystick device to reach areas in the heart that are simply impossible to reach with conventional procedures. Reaching these areas in the cath lab setting will reduce the number of patients having to undergo risky, painful open-heart surgery.

Providence interventional cardiologist, Jason Zagrodzky, M.D., was instrumental in the early analysis of this system. In Dr. Zagrodzky’s initial report, he said, "This technology will revolutionize our treatment in amazing ways — it’s a huge incremental increase in our ability to approach arrhythmias while assuring us an even greater measure of patient safety." Following the final decision and installation of the system at Providence, he added, "I was both surprised and excited that I would have the opportunity to immediately use the world’s newest technology — I never dreamed a Central Texas hospital would be among the first in the nation to receive it."

Dr. M. Wayne Falcone, Providence cardiologist for thirty years, states, "The Niobe System defines a new era in interventional medicine, one where computers are designed to help cardiologists navigate medical devices more rapidly and more precisely than they can be navigated manually. This new system at Providence frees me to focus more on my patient and the outcome, rather than the mechanics of the procedure."

The Niobe System is manufactured by Stereotaxis, Incorporated of St. Louis, Missouri. Area director, Charlotte Kent, stated, "Being a part of only the fifth installation of our system in the nation has been such a rewarding experience for me. The heart team at Providence has responded enthusiastically, in spite of the challenges of maintaining clinical excellence during construction and training. Because of this investment by
Providence Healthcare Network, Waco is certainly on the map when it comes to excellence in cardiac technology."

"The timing of our decision coincided perfectly with the October 2003 announcement in Modern Healthcare that recognizes Providence Health Center as one of Solucient’s Top 100 Heart Hospitals in the United States," stated CEO, Kent Keahey. He added, "While this external stamp of approval by the nation’s leading publication for the hospital industry is certainly great news for Providence, it also strengthens the ability of our city to position itself in attracting industry and promoting economic development as such quality healthcare is desired by all."

Upon completion of the installation and full training of the Providence heart team, the Niobe System was immediately put into use. Providence’s Director of Cardiology, Debbie Kucera, reports, "In the first case here at Providence, a procedure that in the past has taken between 60 to 90 minutes was accomplished in just five minutes. Such reduced procedure times, coupled with greater precision, will result in even greater patient outcomes here at The Heart Hospital at Providence."

Ms. Kucera concluded her statements by announcing the establishment of the M. Brian Aynesworth, M.D. Research Center at Providence. "No longer will Providence be the first to simply make available current medical therapies. We will soon be involved in the design and formation of medical science for the rest of the industry to follow."


For more information contact:
Jonathan D. Ford
VP Marketing & Public Policy
Providence Healthcare Network
254.751.4070
jford@phn-waco.org



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