6 June 2005, TheStar, Kuala Lumpur
By Bernama
A new way to check the heart
Kuala Lumpur: A new three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography system now enables doctors to detect heart disease in the early stages and, in many cases, do away with the need for surgery.
A non-invasive outpatient procedure, the iE33 uses the latest technology to take 3D images of the internal heart structures similar to scanning the foetus in pregnant women, said Dr Michael C.L. Lim, the Medical Director for the Singapore Heart, Stroke and Cancer Centre.
He added that this was previously impossible under the widely used 2D format.
It displays deficits in the functions of the heart muscles and reveals inadequate blood supply to the heart even in the absence of symptoms.
He said the iE33 was a valuable tool for doctors in making more accurate assessments and decisions in treating heart patients.
In Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Mara in Shah Alam was the first to buy the new equipment, costing between US$175,000 (RM665,000) and US$200,000 (RM760,000)
There are three iE33 installations in Singapore, two in Thailand and one in the Philippines.
Dr Lim said that in a 2D format "you can ascertain a defect such as a hole in the heart, but you don't know whether it is round or oval as it is difficult to see the structure of the defect."
"with 3D, we can really see the defect as it is," he said in Singapore recently during a media briefing on the iE33 manufactured by Dutch-based Royal Philips Electronics.
He said that in attempting to close the defect using a fairly non-invasive procedure and without major surgery, there was a need to be able to estimate the size of the hole very accurately.
When you scan the heart in 2D, the images are not in real time or live as you have to process the echo images and you get to see the images after a couple of minutes.
Contrary to what many assume, those with potential heart conditions might never display any symptom until it is too late but the iE33 can detect early heart problems even from the veins and arteries running through the neck.
"Medicine will change from treating diseases to preventing them," Dr Lim said.
For patients with significant blocks in their arteries, 3D imaging enables doctors to visualise the plaques and even ascertain whether they are primarily cholesterol-filled plaques or a mixture of cholesterol plus fibrous tissue, or whether they are calcified.
Dr Lim said iE33's 3D would obviate the need for patients to undergo more intrusive and invasive procedures like angioplasty or bypass. |
