KOLKATA: A Kolkata hospital has brought in the latest technology in interventional cardiology which will help to deal with even the most difficult calcium deposits in heart arteries.

The technology Orbital Atherectomy was launched in India in mid-February after approval from the Drug Controller General of India. With AMR! Hospitals introducing the technology, patients not only from Kolkata but parts of eastern India are expected to have access to better treatment options.

Experts said senior citizens particularly those who suffer from heavy calcium deposition in the arteries will benefit from this option.

Dr Pk Hazra, director of interventional Cardiology, AMRI Hospitals, Dhakuria said that older patients had higher deposition of calcium, making them more vulnerable to heart attacks.

Calcium deposits inside the arteries get rock solid and prevent regular blood flow to the heart, causing heart blockage and leading to various cardiac diseases,including heart attacks. Now we can treat even the most hardened deposits with the new technology and discharge patients within a couple of days. The system has been found to have minimal complications even in high-risk patients, including diabetics, and those with chronic kidney disease,” he said.

Led by Dr Hazra along with consultant interventional cardiologists, Dr Sumanta Chatterjee and Dr Supratip Kundu, the doctors have deployed this technology on five patients since February 17,The Diamondback 360 Coronary Orbital Atherectomy System is a catheter-based technology that has been found to be safe by both FDA in the USA and DCG! in India. tis considered to be more affordable than existing similar procedures. The system also makes it more convenient for doctors to treat patients with a heavy calcium deposit in arteries” Dr Hazra said.

Cardiologists said the orbital atherectomy technology would help senior citizens avoid bypass surgery, and in some cases, there might not even be the need to implant stents or balloons, once the arteries are cleared

The grinder used in Rotational Atherectomy has diamond cutters only at its tip and it can only move forward into the artery. In the Orbital Atherectomy machine we just used the grinder has diamond cutters all over its surface and it can be moved both forwerd and backward, giving us a better chance of removing the calcium deposits,” the doctor added.