Hillcrest Hospital Has New Facility to Treat Complex Brain Conditions

Hillcrest Hospital can manage complex brain conditions with its new angiography suite.

State-of-the-art, flat-panel detector biplane angiography equipment allows doctors to see all the tiny blood vessels in the brain and individually select and fix vessels in need of repair. It will be used to treat patients with strokes and brain aneurysms.

"We can offer faster, more accurate diagnoses for our patients because of the detailed images this new angiography suite provides," said Dr. Peter Rasmussen, director of Cleveland Clinic's Cerebrovascular Center. "It saves critical time for stroke patients when every minute counts."

Rasmussen said the new equipment provides a significant advantage over previous diagnostic testing because of its two advanced X-ray detectors.

"It simultaneously allows for two beams of X-rays to travel through the patients. With that, the doctor can construct a 3-D picture," he said.

Use of the angiography equipment is done through a minimally invasive procedure. A catheter enters a patient through the groin area and is guided through the arteries to blood vessels in the brain. Thin platinum coils are pushed through the catheter and placed inside the brain aneurysm. Blood clots form around the coils, reducing the chance the aneurysm will rupture, according to a hospital press release.

Rasmussen said few hospitals have the equipment because of its expense. Among Cleveland Clinic facilities, only the Main Campus, Lakewood Hospital and Hillcrest Hospital have the angiography equipment.

"Our goal is to have it spread around geographically, so that no matter where you are you can get first-class treatment close to home," he said.