St. Mary-Corwin to provide practitioners with unique simulation training for treating coronary artery disease

St. Mary-Corwin will host the Boston Scientific Mobile Simulation Training Unit on Mon, Jul 17 from 8 am - 4 pm in front of the previous Emergency Room entrance to provide state-of-the-art, hands-on education for its cardiac catheterization lab physicians and staff. The Mobile Simulation Training Unit replicates a cardiac catheterization lab with realistic simulation technology that enables practitioners to explore new procedural solutions and to perform percutaneous coronary interventions in a risk-free environment.

"Coronary artery disease affects approxiamately 11 million Americans and is the single leading killer of American men and women," said Jacquelynn Sharp, director of cardiovascular services and diagnostic imaging at St.Mary-Corwin. "Our interventional cardiologists strive to stay informed about the latest technology to battle this deadly disease. As technologies evolve and allow us to treat more challenging cases, it is important for physicians to maintain the skill and comfort level needed to approach these high risk scenarios."

The mobile unit is a 35-foot bus, complete with a pre-procedure patient briefing area, an area for performing interventions on a simulated patient named Simantha® and a post-procedure metric evaluation computer station. Participants have the option of performing interventions with lesions, or blockages, in the coronary arteries that are considered high risk or a scenario involving the use of the latest embolic protection device to treat a patient with a diseased saphenous vein graft that was placed during coronary bypass surgery.

Lesions that are considered to be high risk include those with blockages in the coronary arteries that are difficult to treat because of their type, location or size. Historically, these cases often required bypass surgery; however, breakthrough technologies increase the likelihood of successfully treating them with less invasive procedures. Because this is becoming more common, an increased emphasis is placed on technique and device choice.

"This kind of simulation not only gives us a unique opportunity to learn new approaches to challenging cases, but also allows us to hone our skills and technique," said Sharp.

"Partnering with Boston Scientific enables hands-on training in the latest treatment methods to come right to our door, so it is accessible and convenient."

For more information, please visit <www.bostonscientific.com>

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