New Equipment at Regional Cardiology

There have been several new additions to Regional Cardiology's arsenal for fighting cardiovascular disorders. Three departments of the clinic's testing facilities have been dramatically upgraded with the acquisition of seven new state-of-the-art instruments. These departments include our ultrasonography services, nuclear medicine, and our in-house full service laboratory.

Ultrasonography

A scan of the
carotid artery

Cardiac surgeons now routinely perform surgical procedures on the heart that would have seemed unthinkable decades ago. But to many patients, the real miracle is the amount of diagnostic information that can be obtained on the heart without a single surgical incision. An ultrasound is a non-invasive, non-radiating technique that sends high-frequency sound waves into the body to produce images of soft tissues and internal body organs. Our clinic offers

One of two Acuson
ultrasonography
stations

these services to take this state-of-the-art diagnostic tool to patients in our area to better aid in their health care. Regional Cardiology Consultants has acquired two new, high performance echocardiography systems from the Acuson company which provides unprecedented image quality and blood flow analysis for medical diagnosis. With this tool, the technicians at Regional Cardiology can more accurately evaluate heart function and identify cardiac abnormalities in the four heart valves and chambers, such as mitral valve regurgitation, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy and other such cardiovascular disorders. In addition to the heart,

A scan of an
aortic aneurysm

blood vessels may be investigated using Carotid vascular extremity studies as well as venous/arterial studies in both arms and legs. One of these new instruments is located at our main office in Jackson, Tennessee. The other of these devices is dedicated to our mobile services unit. This mobile echosonography unit travels to various locations throughout western Tennessee to perform these life-saving procedures for more remote communities that do not have these medical advantages.

Nuclear Medicine

Our nuclear medicine department has also gained an amazing diagnostic capability. As with echosonography, our nuclear services combine the power of reliable diagnostic scans with the ease of non-invasive medicine. Not only does our nuclear medicine department offer the ability to do many cardiac related scans but it

One of two SPECT Orbiter stations.
The other is used on our Mobile Coach.

also allows for an in depth view of many of the body's other organs. Our cardiovascular tests include thallium stress tests for the purpose of revealing any insufficiencies of blood flow for the heart. In addition to this important scan, our services also offer diagnostic scans for the thyroid, bone flow, bone imaging, HIDA scans, liver/spleen imaging, and ventilation/perfusion lung scans. As is the tradition at Regional Cardiology, our equipment offers only the best in modern diagnostic imaging. The only invasive measure necessary for our SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computer Tomography) scans are the IV's and the injections of the appropriate isotope for the scan to detect. With the addition of the Siemens Orbiter to both our Jackson office and to our Mobile Coach, we now have the ability to better scan our patients with the highest precision

SPECT scan of several
layers of the heart

possible. Another addition to our nuclear medicine services gives our nuclear technicians and physicians the extra edge in nuclear imaging. We have gained the perfect marriage of hardware and software by adding the SMV workstations to our orbiters. These workstations provide powerful computer generated models of the various body organs being scanned. With these intensive graphical representations of the heart and other structures it is now possible to diagnose and treat our patients with the best care possible.

Medical Laboratory

ATAC 8000 Chemistry
Instrument

The most recent additions to Regional Cardiology's host of medical marvels are two new laboratory instruments. One of these instruments is the ATAC 8000 which, in addition to standard chemistries, also has the capability to run therapeutic drug levels, urine microalbumins, and lipoprotein A's. Additionally, this instrumentation incorporates a computer system that ensures appropriate Medicare coding for patient testing. Especially exciting is the systems ability to produce reports showing trend analysis on a patient's test results. For example, the physician and patient are able to not only see what a patient's lipid profile is now, but also compare it to the last five lipid profiles that the patient has had.

Abbott Axsym System
for specialized blood
chemistry analysis

In addition to the ATAC 8000, Regional Cardiology has also recently added the Abbott Axsym instrument to the lab's instrumentation capabilities. This device is capable of running very special chemistries on patient blood samples. Its random access capability allows for faster resulting of thyroid profiles, B12 and folates, troponin I, and homocysteine levels. Due to its high sensitivity, it enhances the physician's ability to make quick and accurate decisions in emergency situations.