Corindus Vascular Robotics' Documentary Highlights Reducing the Risk of Back Injury in the Cath Lab

September 16, 2015—Corindus Vascular Robotics, Inc. has released a new documentary film, “Robotics Reducing the Burden of a Life in the Cath Lab,” available on the company’s website, to highlight the impact that protective lead apparel has on physicians practicing in catheterization labs and how the company’s robotics are employed to help solve these problems. The documentary features interventional cardiologist Vijay S. Iyer, MD, who is Medical Director of Structural Heart Interventions at Gates Vascular Institute, Kaleida Health, in Buffalo, New York.

According to Corindus, Dr. Iyer credits the company’s CorPath system with providing an alternative solution to constantly wearing heavy lead apparel to protect him from radiation. The CorPath system includes a radiation-shielded interventional cockpit that protects the interventional cardiologist from occupational radiation exposure while providing robotic-assisted precision to coronary angioplasty procedures. 

In the company’s press release, Dr. Iyer commented, “The radiation that comes from the x-ray machine is a constant threat to us, but by wearing the lead to protect myself, I ended up with serious back injuries. My most recent surgery kept me out of work for 6 weeks, and many patients waited to have their procedure until I returned. I knew if the stress on my spine continued, the injury could put an end to my career as an interventional cardiologist.”

Dr. Iyer added, “The CorPath system allows me to step away from the patient table, take my lead off, and sit down at a radiation-shielded workstation where I have robotic control of the wire, balloon, and stent. I'm no longer going to work every day dreading that back injury could make it the last day I'm an interventional cardiologist."

The Corindus CorPath system is cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration for robotic-assisted coronary angioplasty procedures and is currently indicated in the United States for use only in percutaneous coronary intervention. In February 2015, the company announced the initiation of a single-center, 20-patient clinical trial of the CorPath system in peripheral vascular interventions.