Alphenix – the Perfect Combination of Flexibility, Workflow, and Image Quality:
First class features, for a first-class cardiac system
Nadeem Mughal
Nadeem Mughal
The cardiac catheterisation labs at Royal North Shore hospital in Sydney, Australia provide interventional cardiology services to both the Royal North Shore public and private hospitals. The labs perform coronary angiography, PCI, infarct angioplasty, electro-physiology studies and support the hospitals expanding structural heart program. The department has a 30-year relationship with Canon Medical and currently has two Alphenix interventional cardiology systems, one installed in 2019 and the second in early 2023.
“We’re a busy department and so it’s important that we have a system with great workflow and flexibility – to help us complete procedures faster”, states Nadeem Mughal, the senior radiographer in charge of the Cath Labs. “We also need to ensure that our interventional systems are easy to use and easy to train new cardiologists and radiographers.”
I like working with Canon interventional systems because they are easy to use, intuitive and can be configured to suit our department’s needs. The Alphenix’s hyper-handle system is a great addition to our departments workflow. I love how I can configure it to have all the functionality I need right at my fingertips. I can control the lights, the playback runs, map images, fluoro controls all with one hand. Easy, one-handed access to all the functionality I require means that there is always one hand available to support the patient. It is also important for our cardiologists, as it means they can always maintain control of their catheter. This is essential at critical parts of a procedure, for example when they are about to deploy a stent or have just crossed a lesion in a chronic total occlusion case.
I like working with Canon interventional systems because they are easy to use, intuitive and can be configured to suit our department’s needs. The Alphenix’s hyper-handle system is a great addition to our departments workflow. I love how I can configure it to have all the functionality I need right at my fingertips. I can control the lights, the playback runs, map images, fluoro controls all with one hand. Easy, one-handed access to all the functionality I require means that there is always one hand available to support the patient. It is also important for our cardiologists, as it means they can always maintain control of their catheter. This is essential at critical parts of a procedure, for example when they are about to deploy a stent or have just crossed a lesion in a chronic total occlusion case.
The system’s tableside tablet is also fully configurable and provides access to all the system’s features at the tableside. It provides seamless workflow and gives greater control and flexibility.
One of the biggest advantages of the Alphenix and one of my personal favorites is the cine automatic replay function. With the type of interventional work we perform, particularly infarct angioplasty, it is critical to have quick and easy access to visualise your last run, pause it and go through frame-by-frame. Having your last run play and pause in real time, parallel to live fluoro is a feature we rely on, and it gives the team a much better understanding of the stenosis and the interventional progress. It also allows other consultants to review previous runs from within the control room without interrupting the live fluoro of the primary operator and give any advice if needed. It’s a first-class feature for a first-class machine, our cardiologists love it and wouldn’t live without it. One of the biggest advantages of the Alphenix is the automatic continuous instant replay function.It allows you to view fluoro and a live replay on your reference screen simultaneously – giving the team a much better understanding of the stenosis and intervention progress
One of the biggest advantages of the Alphenix and one of my personal favorites is the cine automatic replay function. With the type of interventional work we perform, particularly infarct angioplasty, it is critical to have quick and easy access to visualise your last run, pause it and go through frame-by-frame. Having your last run play and pause in real time, parallel to live fluoro is a feature we rely on, and it gives the team a much better understanding of the stenosis and the interventional progress. It also allows other consultants to review previous runs from within the control room without interrupting the live fluoro of the primary operator and give any advice if needed. It’s a first-class feature for a first-class machine, our cardiologists love it and wouldn’t live without it. One of the biggest advantages of the Alphenix is the automatic continuous instant replay function.It allows you to view fluoro and a live replay on your reference screen simultaneously – giving the team a much better understanding of the stenosis and intervention progress
“One of the biggest advantages of the Alphenix is the automatic continuous instant replay function.”
Nadeem Mughal,
Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
The Canon interventional systems C-arm movements are extremely flexible. The lateral and fingertip to fingertip coverage allows us to perform radial, femoral or carotid procedures seamlessly without moving the patient or pivoting the table, greatly improving our workflow.
Being able to move the C-arm completely to the side when treating an intubated patient means the ICU and anesthetic teams have un-interrupted access to the patient airway, a feature we all love.
The Alphenix’s high quality imaging provides us with the confidence to perform complex cardiology procedures with ease. The fluoroscopy image quality is clear and allows us to visualise what we need across the wide variety of patients we see and procedures we perform.
Being able to move the C-arm completely to the side when treating an intubated patient means the ICU and anesthetic teams have un-interrupted access to the patient airway, a feature we all love.
The Alphenix’s high quality imaging provides us with the confidence to perform complex cardiology procedures with ease. The fluoroscopy image quality is clear and allows us to visualise what we need across the wide variety of patients we see and procedures we perform.
“The Alphenix produces high quality imaging that provides us with the confidence to perform complex cardiology procedures”
Nadeem Mughal,
Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
Personalised service important in providing critical cardiology services
Nadeem and Steve Weston - Customer Service Manager, Canon Medical Systems ANZ
Sometimes we have a cardiac patient on the table, and I need answers fast
In a busy cardiac Cath Lab providing elective and emergency procedures, it is important that if we experience an issue with our system that we get an accurate indication of when the system will be fixed, and that any downtime is kept to a minimum. I have always been impressed by Canon’s rapid response times.
In a busy cardiac Cath Lab providing elective and emergency procedures, it is important that if we experience an issue with our system that we get an accurate indication of when the system will be fixed, and that any downtime is kept to a minimum. I have always been impressed by Canon’s rapid response times.
Nadeem and Steve Weston - Customer Service Manager, Canon Medical Systems ANZ
With Canon’s direct connect service option I can ring their engineers directly and explain the issue over the phone. This eliminates the need to go through a call center – which is extremely beneficial in the middle of breakdown. To be able to directly connect allows me to troubleshoot with an expert and someone who knows my site, system and staff, immediately.
Sometimes we have a patient on the table, and I need answers fast – speaking directly to an engineer helps ensure that we can find a solution as soon as possible.
A strength of the Canon team is their effective and professional communication, but at the same time we feel like we are dealing with friends rather than a large corporation
Sometimes we have a patient on the table, and I need answers fast – speaking directly to an engineer helps ensure that we can find a solution as soon as possible.
A strength of the Canon team is their effective and professional communication, but at the same time we feel like we are dealing with friends rather than a large corporation
I consider the Canon engineers a part of our Cath Lab team. They are professional, pro-active and I have been impressed that they will visit the department regularly. This pro-active approach means that potential problems can be identified early. On a recent visit, one of the Canon engineers noticed a humming from our system, he was able to immediately locate and order a new x-ray tube from a local warehouse and have it replaced that day, after hours. This meant that there was no impact to our service and our ability to provide care to our patients.
Royal North Shore Hospital have recently installed their second Alphenix Core+ cardiac interventional system and have been impressed with the support they have received from the entire Canon project team. Nadeem commented that both the hospitals Canon systems were installed in record time.
Royal North Shore Hospital have recently installed their second Alphenix Core+ cardiac interventional system and have been impressed with the support they have received from the entire Canon project team. Nadeem commented that both the hospitals Canon systems were installed in record time.
With a growing structural heart program and increasing demand for cardiac labs to perform complex procedures on high-risk patients, Nadeem is looking forward to the department benefitting from the advanced technologies of the new Alphenix such as Spot ROI and the image quality improvements from the new dedicated cardiac tube. //
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