�While tread-wheel exercise strain testing is an essential tool in the prevention, detection and treatment of cardiovascular disease, physicians are often challenged to put on clear images of the heart when a patient is at peak stress level.
That is changing at the Ohio State University Medical Center where researchers have intentional equipment to provide high resolution images of the heart at a critical stage of testing that have previously been difficult to obtain using standard testing procedures. Superior images of the heart ar obtained with a test lasting less than one hour.
"In the past, we were strained by the time lapse between the completion of exercise and capturing the images," aforesaid Orlando "Lon" Simonetti, PhD, associate prof of interior medicine and radiology. "We now hold the ability to exercise patients to peak stress and hold a high gear definition mental image of their heart inside 60 seconds, which helps us more accurately identify exercise-induced abnormalities. OSU Medical Center is the just place in the earthly concern performing salt mine exercise stress tests inside the MRI scan room."
The standard design of treadmills has made exercise emphasis testing a challenge near the large magnetic athletic field generated by the MRI equipment. Simonetti and his team, working with graduate students from Ohio State's College of Engineering and faculty from the OSU Agricultural Technical Institute, limited a treadmill for purpose in come together proximity to the MRI exam table. Magnetic components were replaced with nonmagnetic stainless steel and atomic number 13 equivalents.
While patients perform the treadmill exercise test, they are monitored using a 12-lead cardiogram system that is disconnected after exercise. Heart rate and rhythm are then monitored with a tuner, MRI-compatible electrode unit piece patients undergo a rapid, real-time tomography procedure that takes less than one minute.
Clinicians ar excited about the possibilities. "Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and by combining our medical expertise with other disciplines, we can make grow safe approaches for improved diagnosis and treatment," aforesaid Dr. Subha Raman, associate professor of internal medical specialty in OSU Medical Center's division of cardiovascular medical specialty. "While stream forms of stress examination have been helpful, combine exercise strain with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging allows us to better measure the comportment and extent of nerve disease with a clarity not previously possible."
Source: Doug Flowers
Ohio State University Medical Center
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