A BOURNEMOUTH Hospital has become the first private facility in the UK to acquire state-of-the-art coronary imaging technology.

Nuffield Health Bournemouth Hospital will be using

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) during a number of cardiac procedures.

The technology is a fully-integrated imaging system that provides an enhanced look at a patient’s coronary arteries, in real time. OCT uses light rather than ultrasound technology to identify blockages within an artery, provides information on disease severity and ensures procedures to treat coronary artery disease are accomplished successfully.

Getting an enhanced look at a coronary artery during procedures, such as stenting, allows consultants to be more precise when positioning and expanding stents within a narrowing, to ensure an optimum result, said Dr Suneel Talwar, Cardiologist at Nuffield Health Bournemouth Hospital.

“A stent is a tiny tube that is inserted into an artery to restore the flow of blood," he explained. "When we deploy a stent, the better we can oppose the stent to the arterial wall, the higher the success rate and long-term outcomes.”

The Cardiology Suite was part of a major £5 million renovation project at Nuffield Health Bournemouth Hospital providing facilities for patients to receive a full cardiac service including echocardiography, holter monitoring, cardiac CT, cardiac MRI, out-patient diagnostic, and an in-patient cardiology facility performing procedures.