Omid Behnamfar

Robotic technology in interventional cardiology: Current status and future perspectives

Robotic technology has been utilized in cardiovascular medicine for over a decade, and over that period, its use has been expanded to percutaneous coronary and peripheral vascular interventions. The safety and feasibility of robotically assisted percutaneous cardiovascular interventions has been demonstrated in studies including simple to complex coronary lesions, and both iliac and femoropopliteal lesions. These reports have shown that robotically assisted PCI significantly reduces operator exposure to harmful ionizing radiation without a detrimental effect on procedural success or clinical efficacy. Additionally, the use of robotics has the intuitive benefit of alleviating the risk of orthopedic injuries faced by interventional operators. In addition to the interventional operator benefits, robotically assisted intervention has the potential for patient level benefit by allowing more accurate lesion length measurement, precise stent placement, and lower patient radiation exposure. However, further investigation is required to fully elucidate these potential benefits.

Elevated Serum Fibrinogen Is Associated With 12-Month Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Elevated fibrinogen and higher on-thienopyridine platelet reactivity increase short-term major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), but longer-term effects are unclear [(1,2)][1]. The current study, approved by the UC San Diego Institutional Review

Balloon Pulmonary Angioplasty for Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is associated with several risk factors but is most frequently seen as a rare consequence of an acute pulmonary embolism. Surgical pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE) is potentially curative for CTEPH with the best outcomes seen for the treatment of primarily proximal, accessible lobar or segmental disease. For surgically inoperable patients, percutaneous balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) is feasible and has good short- to mid-term efficacy outcomes. This review focuses on the technique and outcomes associated with BPA which has emerged as a new therapeutic option for CTEPH.

COMPLEX ROBOTICALLY-ASSISTED PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY INTERVENTIONS: REASONS FOR PARTIAL MANUAL ASSISTANCE OR MANUAL CONVERSION

Robotic percutaneous coronary intervention (R-PCI) (CorPath 200, Corindus, Boston, MA) is safe and feasible for simple coronary lesions. This study was designed to determine the frequency and reasons for partial manual assistance or manual conversion during complex R-PCI. Consecutive R-PCI

Elevated Baseline Serum Fibrinogen: Effect on 2‐Year Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Background Elevated fibrinogen is associated with short‐term major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) after percutaneous coronary intervention, but the relation with late MACE is unknown. Methods and Results Baseline demographics and 2‐year MACE were recorded among subjects undergoing nonemergent percutaneous coronary intervention. A total of 332 subjects (66.6±19.5 years, 69.9% male, 25.3% acute coronary syndrome) were enrolled. Two‐year MACE (periprocedural myocardial infarction 9.0%, rehospitalization 6.3%, revascularization 12.7%, non–periprocedural myocardial infarction 4.5%, stent thrombosis 0.9%, stroke 1.8%, and death 0.6%) were associated with higher fibrinogen (352.8±123.4 mg/dL versus 301.6±110.8 mg/dL; P<0.001), longer total stent length (40.1±25.3 mm versus 32.1±19.3 mm; P=0.004), acute coronary syndrome indication (38.7% versus 17.8%; P<0.001), number of bare‐metal stents (0.5±1.1 versus 0.2±0.5; P=0.002), and stent diameter ≤2.5 mm (55.8% versus 38.4%, P=0.003). No relation between platelet reactivity and 2‐year MACE was observed. Fibrinogen ≥280 mg/dL (odds ratio [OR] 3.0, confidence interval [CI], 1.6–5.4, P<0.001), total stent length ≥32 mm (OR 2.2, CI, 1.3–3.8, P<0.001), acute coronary syndrome indication (OR 4.1, CI, 2.3–7.5, P<0.001), any bare‐metal stents (OR 3.2, CI, 1.6–6.1, P<0.001), and stent diameter ≤2.5 mm (OR 2.0, CI, 1.2–3.5, P=0.010) were independently associated with 2‐year MACE. Following a landmark analysis excluding periprocedural myocardial infarction, fibrinogen ≥280 mg/dL remained strongly associated with 2‐year MACE (37.0% versus 17.4%, log‐rank P<0.001). Conclusions Elevated baseline fibrinogen level is associated with 2‐year MACE after percutaneous coronary intervention. Acute coronary syndrome indication for percutaneous coronary intervention, total stent length implanted, and use of bare‐metal stents or smaller‐diameter stents are also independently associated with 2‐year MACE, while measures of on‐thienopyridine platelet reactivity are not.

Robotics in percutaneous cardiovascular interventions

ABSTRACT Introduction: The fundamental technique of performing percutaneous cardiovascular (CV) interventions has remained unchanged and requires operators to wear heavy lead aprons to minimize exposure to ionizing radiation. Robotic technology is now being utilized in interventional cardiology partially as a direct result of the increasing appreciation of the long-term occupational hazards of the field. This review was undertaken to report the clinical outcomes of percutaneous robotic coronary and peripheral vascular interventions. Areas covered: A systematic literature review of percutaneous robotic CV interventions was undertaken. The safety and feasibility of percutaneous robotically-assisted CV interventions has been validated in simple to complex coronary disease, and iliofemoral disease. Studies have shown that robotically-assisted PCI significantly reduces operator exposure to harmful ionizing radiation without compromising procedural success or clinical efficacy. In addition to the operator benefits, robotically-assisted intervention has the potential for patient advantages by allowing more accurate lesion length measurement, precise stent placement and lower patient radiation exposure. However, further investigation is required to fully elucidate these potential benefits. Expert commentary: Incremental improvement in robotic technology and telecommunications would enable treatment of an even broader patient population, and potentially provide remote robotic PCI.

Robotically-Assisted Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Reasons for Partial Manual Assistance or Manual Conversion

BACKGROUND Robotically-assisted percutaneous coronary intervention (R-PCI) is feasible for simple coronary lesions. OBJECTIVES To determine the frequency and reasons for partial manual assistance or manual conversion during R-PCI in clinical practice. METHODS The CorPath 200 System (Corindus, Waltham, MA) enables the operator to sit in a radiation-shielded cockpit and remotely control intracoronary devices including guidewires, balloons, and stents. Consecutive R-PCI procedures performed over 18months were analyzed to identify reasons for planned or unplanned manual assistance or manual conversion, and categorized as due to 1) adverse event; 2) technical limitation of the robotic platform; or 3) limited guide catheter/wire support. RESULTS During the study period, 108 R-PCI procedures (68.1±11.0years, 77.8% men, 69.4% elective PCI, 78.3% type B2/C lesions, and 50.3% left anterior descending/left main target lesion segment) were performed. High robotic technical success (91.7%) and clinical procedural success (99.1%) were achieved. Twenty procedures (18.5%) required either planned partial manual assistance (3.7%), unplanned partial manual assistance (7.4%), or manual conversion (7.4%). Among these procedures, manual assistance/conversion was required in 3 procedures for an adverse event (15%), 8 for technical limitation of the robotic platform (40%), and 9 for guide catheter/wire support issues (45%). CONCLUSIONS High clinical success with R-PCI for a complex lesion cohort is possible with only occasional partial manual assistance or manual conversion. The majority of procedures requiring manual assistance/conversion were due to limited guide catheter/wire support or robotic platform limitations, rather than occurrence of adverse events.