Training of medical professionals on how to use Cath lab underway in Accra

Accra-Ghana, Feb. 4, GNA – A three- day training programme for cardiologist, biomedical engineers and radiologist on the usage of Cath lab was on Tuesday opened in Accra.
It is being organised by the University of Ghana Medical Center (UGMC) for specialised medical professionals of the Center and Philips Healthcare Systems Ghana, the manufacturers of the equipment.
A Cath lab is an examination room in a clinic or hospital with diagnostic imaging equipment.
It is a mounted system, with which minimally invasive tests and procedures are performed to diagnose and treat cardiovascular disease in a Cath lab.
It consists of a patient table, image intensifier or flat panel detector, viewing monitors, an injector pump, angioplasty balloons and a Defibrillator. It also has an X-ray image intensifier for fluoroscopic imaging and a single X-ray generator source.
The training is expected to exposes the participants to the best ways to use the Cath lab to treat cardio interventional radiology, neuro, and oncology interventions.
Dr Tarek Gad, a Business Line Specialist of Philips from Egypt, said the Cath lab was focused on providing preventive Healthcare.
Dr George Nunoo, Head of Radiology and Sonography at the UGMC, said the training would help the doctors learn how the machine was used in treating diseases like Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA), Vascular visual diabetes among other pulmonary diseases.
“The Cath lab machine enables you to get into the disease site itself even where we thought it was impossible to deal with directly, for instance, the brain vessels are very small but with the use of a Cath lab, you can get to the affected part of the brain, ” he said.
Dr Nunoo called for the training of more cardiologist and biomedical engineers in the use of Cath labs, at least once professional in a region to help reduce the incidence of non-communicable diseases in the country.