The Caribbean Heart Institute (CHI) yesterday achieved a groundbreaking advancement in cardiology with the successful performance of an optical coherence tomography (OCT) procedure at its facility located in the Georgetown Public Hospital.
A CHI release which announced the milestone noted that this pioneering procedure, a first for Guyana, is a significant milestone for the institute.
It explained that optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a cutting-edge technology that enables doctors to view the interior of blood vessels without the interference of blood flow. This technique provides exceptionally clear and detailed images, similar to inserting a tiny camera into the blood vessel to capture high-resolution pictures. As such, these precise images assist cardiologists in making more informed decisions about treating heart conditions as it allows them to accurately determine the optimal location for placing a stent, a small tube that keeps arteries open. Further, this advanced system incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) with deep learning image analysis to help cardiologists select the most appropriate stent size for each individual patient. Recent clinical trials have shown that imaging-guided stenting outperforms the angiography-only approach.