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Thousands of cardiac stent procedures are successfully performed every year, but a key challenge is positioning the stent, guidewires, and catheter at the precise location of the blockage. In addition, even with the most sophisticated X-ray technology, the complex shape of the heart and the twists and turns of the coronary arteries make the exact size of the blockage difficult to visualize and measure. As a result of these challenges, 10-20 percent of patients require a second stent due to inaccurate placement or size of the first stent.

The CorPath 200 System, a new robotic-assisted percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) system, was recently approved for use by the FDA, based on the findings of the CorPath PRECISE trial, led by investigators from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Boston.

"This novel system, which enhances positioning by manipulating the catheter, stent, and guidewire at the same time, also provides improved visualization and blockage measurement," says Dr. Giora Weisz, director of clinical research at the Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and associate professor of medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Equally important, he notes, the robotic system gives him more control than the conventional approach by allowing him to move the guidewire and stent in increments as small as one millimeter. In addition, the CorPath 200 System allows the interventional cardiologist to perform the cardiac stent procedures remotely, while seated in a radiation-protected cockpit next to the patient's bed. As Dr. Weisz sees it, "The improved positioning, imaging, overall control, and radiation protection add up to a win-win for patients and doctors alike."

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center is currently piloting the new robotic-assisted percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) system and has plans to provide this new technology to patients in the coming year.

Cardiac stent procedures restore blood flow to blocked arteries in patients with coronary artery disease. A cardiac stent acts like a scaffold to support and open a blocked coronary artery. As part of a cardiac stent procedure, a catheter tipped with a small deflated balloon inside a closed steel mesh stent is inserted into a coronary artery under the guidance of X-rays and contrast dyes for visualization. Once the stent is in place, the balloon is inflated, expanding the stent to the exact size of the artery. The deflated balloon is then removed.

For more information, patients may call 866-NYP-NEWS.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, located in New York City, is one of the leading academic medical centers in the world, comprising the teaching hospital NewYork-Presbyterian and its academic partner, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine, and is committed to excellence in patient care, research, education and community service. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital also comprises NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division and NewYork-Presbyterian/The Allen Hospital. NewYork-Presbyterian is the #1 hospital in the New York metropolitan area and is consistently ranked among the best academic medical institutions in the nation, according to U.S.News & World Report.

Columbia University Medical Center

Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, pre-clinical and clinical research, in medical and health sciences education, and in patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the College of Physicians & Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Established in 1767, Columbia's College of Physicians & Surgeons was the first institution in the country to grant the M.D. degree. Among the most selective medical schools in the country, the school is home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York State and one of the largest in the United States. For more information, please visit www.cumc.columbia.edu.