Jewish General Hospital finds tech solution to heart surgery during the pandemic
When COVID-19 hit Montreal, the Jewish General hospital, like many other hospitals, quickly became off-limits for many elective surgeries including for those involving the heart.
Bringing teams of specialized surgeons in for installing cardiac valves, for example, became a logistical nightmare, said Dr. Lawrence Rudski, who is the director of the Azrieli Heart Centre at the Jewish.
"For these procedures, we normally bring in people from outside," he said. "We only did the most urgent cases. We have partnerships with other centres."
The solution involved connecting the team doing the surgery with an expert who was up to date on the very latest intravenous valve replacement technologies.
That doctor, Sam Radhakrishnan, monitored the surgery from his Toronto office.
"We worked in collaboration with our colleague, Dr. Sam Radakrishnan, in Toronto who was able to see almost everything we see in the operating room, and he can comment and we can see every step of the procedure," said Dr. Ali Abualsaud, a cardiologist at the JGH who took part in the experiment.
This is how it works: Dr. Radhakrishnan is watching remotely from his office, while the other team, in Montreal, is inserting a replacement valve through the aorta on the patient. A technician from the valve manufacturer is making sure the device is loaded correctly.
Back in Toronto, Radhakrishnan is monitoring vital signs and other things in real-time on his screens, while providing guidance to the surgeons.
Think of it as a Zoom session on steroids.
"We had to reinvent a way to broadcast all the screens, like fluoroscopy, echography, vital signs and add to augmented reality with lenses," said consultant Marcel Lafontaine, president of Auger Groupe Conseil based in Trois-Rivieres, which developed the platform in partnership with Medtronic Canada.
"Our job was very simple," he said. "Let's bring the operating room to the office of the doctor. The guy can do two cases in the morning, two in the afternoon."
The technology was developed for cardiology, but it can be applied elsewhere.
The valve technology was developed by the Canadian division of Medtronic, a medical device manufacturer.
"We can imagine that it could be expanded to other types of surgeries, and therapies as well, but it was more urgent to carry on in the heart sector," said director Richard Pare.
It's a new world in the operating room, one where virtual reality could soon be the next step.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
BREAKING London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.