Hybrid Cardiac Suite

Patients of the Rush Center for Congenital and Structural Heart Disease can benefit from a new cardiac treatment facility that couples the benefits of interventional cardiology with cardiothoracic surgery for critically ill newborns, children and adults.

The new bi-plane hybrid cardiac suite, one of only three facilities of its kind in the  United States and the only one in Chicago, is equipped with the latest in continuous, real-time imaging technology and radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. The suite allows collaboration between the surgeons and interventional cardiologists on complex heart problems. For example, fixing a very large hole in the heart can be done by inserting a catheter through a small incision in the chest rather than relying on major surgery to open the chest to reach the heart.

The hybrid suite is equipped with the latest technology for minimally invasive interventional cardiology that involves the use of a catheter and an image-guidance system to thread tiny instruments through blood vessels to repair the heart. Through these special catheters, physicians at Rush can implant stents, artificial heart valves and insert patches for holes in the heart. At right, view a video showing how the hybrid suite helps Rush provide state-of-the-art care for people with congenital and structural heart disease.

In many complex cardiac cases, patients who would otherwise have no other option but to undergo open-heart bypass surgery can now have minimally invasive procedures that would otherwise not be available to them.

The new hybrid cardiac catheterization suite has the most advanced imaging technologies and can still get a precise, optimal image of any region of the heart regardless of the size or complexity of congenital heart disease.

The imaging system also features eight-inch cardiac flat panel detectors designed to deliver distortion-free images.

The suite also includes intravascular ultrasound machines, which takes real-time images to allow physicians to see the progress of the procedure taking place inside the patient’s body.

A high-tech, automated clinical resource management system located in the suite stores and tracks the medication, surgical tools, medical devices, and implantable devices and supplies using the latest RFID enabled technology.