Dozens of cardiologists, nurses, and surgical health care workers – mostly from Willis-Knighton Health System – filed into a mobile learning lab Friday to get hands-on training with a tiny heart pump that’s becoming more widely used in certain heart procedures.
A trainer from Danvers, Massachusetts-based Abiomed demonstrated how to insert the Impella heart pump through a catheter on a mannequin’s artificial femoral artery.
“All right, those of you who scrubbed, at this point, we have to gain access to the ventricle,” the Abiomed trainer said, requesting no further recording of the simulation.
The pump device, which resembles a fishing hook, is inserted into the heart to pull blood out so the muscle can rest. Willis-Knighton Medical Center, on average, is using it on two patients a month, according to Willis-Knighton’s Cardiovascular Services director Kathy Walker.
“This is really a privilege to have this kind of technology here in Shreveport where we can look at every aspect of it and see how it’s utilized,” Walker said, who estimated between 60 and 100 medical professionals would go through the Abiomed mobile lab training.
The lab is pulled by an 18-wheeler and it crisscrosses the country bringing heart pump product demos to hospitals and cities. Cardiologist Jimmy Smith says normally when he goes to a conference he can get this kind of exposure to new technology, but it’s unusual to have his entire medical team trained up.
“We get a chance to take our time and get familiar with the device. When we need this device people are pretty sick. If you haven’t had the chance to familiarize yourself with the device, things are already stressful enough with people being sick. If you’re not familiar with the equipment, then it’s really stressful,” Smith said, who has used it in his practice for about two years at Advanced Cardiology Specialists at Willis-Knighton Medical Center.
According to Abiomed’s website, Impella heart pump devices are now used in 1,000 hospitals nationwide. Its devices have been used on 25,000 patients in the U.S. and growing. The company reported second quarter earnings last week up 47 percent year-over-year.
Willis-Knighton Heart and Vascular Institute is the first location in the region to get trained through Abiomed’s mobile lab program. Heart pump piece
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