Dignity Health French Hospital Medical Center Announces the Opening of a New State-of-the-Art Heart Catheterization Lab and First Successful Procedure

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA, July 12, 2023 -  Dignity Health French Hospital Medical Center (FHMC) is excited to announce the opening of its brand new Heart Catheterization Lab with the most advanced technology and equipment,  GE Allia IGS 730 fluoroscopy system. The new cath lab is located in the Copeland, Forbes and Rossi Cardiac Care Center in the hospital. 

Cardiologist, Robert Doria, MD, performed  the first procedure at French Hospital’s new cath lab today and said, “Our first procedure with the new technology was successful and resulted in excellent imaging of the patient’s coronary arteries and valves. It couldn’t have gone better. The new state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization laboratory system brings the most advanced imaging technology to the Central Coast. This is the first of two identical catheterization lab systems which will be installed at French Hospital Medical Center, making French Hospital the only facility between Los Angeles and San Francisco to have this advanced diagnostic system.  Patients will benefit from more precise and improved imaging of heart and vascular structures while receiving even lower radiation doses compared with the systems which have been replaced.  This advanced technology will significantly enhance cardiovascular diagnostics and  therapies for the patients in our community for many years to come.” 

The new system and the types of procedures our physicians  can do with it will help serve people in our community who suffer from  heart attacks and other heart and vascular conditions that need specific procedures like  pacemaker implantation and coronary artery stenting. Doctors can also use it for arrhythmia ablation, minimally invasive aortic valve replacement (TAVR), Transcatheter Edge to Edge Repair (MitraClip), Watchman, radioembolization for liver cancer, uterine fibroid embolization and more.  

The new system adds both clinical and operational efficiency with custom system settings to suit clinician preferences which helps reduce time-consuming procedural setup and provides more focus on the needs of the patient.

Some  highlights of GE Allia IGS 730 fluoroscopy system include:

• Allows a more multi-disciplinary utilization of the lab – adding flexibility for different specialists to work in the space including cardiologists, electrophysiologists, and interventional radiologists
• Features and capabilities of the system effectively future-proof the lab, allowing us to add technology and support new or breakthrough procedures.  Features a fully robotic gantry system
• Applies the first AI-based, interventional image chain in the industry with training on over 6,000 procedural datasets to optimize image quality

“French Hospital is very proud to offer continued excellence in cardiovascular care with this latest advanced equipment and technology combined with the area's most experienced team of cardiologists. As San Luis Obispo County’s only designated STEMI (heart attack) receiving center, patients experiencing the most critical types of heart attacks can get potentially lifesaving angioplasty in less than 90 minutes which is the national standard. Advancing cardiac services and investing in state-of-the-art technology at French Hospital aligns with our mission to provide the highest quality care in the communities we serve,” said Patrick Caster, President and CEO, French Hospital Medical Center.

French Hospital’s Cardiovascular Services cover both diagnostic and interventional cardiology procedures, electrophysiology, structural heart, and interventional radiology services.   

To learn more about French Hospital Medical Center, please visit dignityhealth.org/frenchhospital.

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About French Hospital Medical Center

French Hospital Medical Center is a state-of-the-art, 112-bed acute care hospital located in San Luis Obispo, California. French’s Oppenheimer Family Center for Emergency Medicine is the area’s most advanced emergency services center. The modern facility is home to the Copeland, Forbes, and Rossi Cardiac Care Center, is the county’s premier cardiac center, providing the latest cardiac and imaging

technology, and the Hearst Cancer Resource Center offering free education, resources and support to cancer patients and their families. It’s recognized as one of the top Maternity Hospitals by Newsweek for the 3rd time.