Rob ten Hoedt, President of Medtronic in Europe and Central Asia explained: "New developments in the fields of heart surgery and interventional cardiology enable less invasive therapy for many heart and vascular conditions. The alliance between Medtronic and Siemens enables us to offer physicians an optimized hybrid operating room solution which is the ideal environment to perform these less invasive procedures. This catheter based approach brings new treatment option for patients who are not indicated for conventional surgery, thereby fulfilling Medtronic’s Mission of alleviating pain, restoring health and extending life."

Heinrich Kolem, CEO of Angio, Fluoroscopic and Radiographic Systems at Siemens Healthcare, adds: “Siemens offers its customers integrated hybrid OR solutions in the field of surgery. Such solutions can be made possible only through partnerships with companies that share the same vision for the future of heart surgery. And that's the reason why we work together with companies like Medtronic, who offer outstanding devices and perfusion solutions for the hybrid OR."

In addition to their hybrid OR range, Siemens and Medtronic also collaborate on advanced training for physicians. Thus, for example, the two companies have developed training programs dealing with imaging and handling catheters in cardiovascular surgery. Following a theoretical part, the course participants train on simulators and on angiography systems which use real radiation. In the practical part, an experienced surgeon is available for every two participants. Intensive training in small groups ensures learning success.

Heart and vascular surgery is one of the most commonly used and, at the same time, one of the most complex procedures in modern medicine. Some 260,000 patients are currently afflicted with severe aortic stenosis in Western Europe alone. Of these, roughly 50,000 are regarded as inoperable due to their risk profiles. New developments in surgical procedures such as, for example, the replacement of heart valves via catheter and the implantation of stents in the thoracic aorta now promise better therapeutic possibilities for such patients. The ideal environment for such treatments is the so-called hybrid operating room, which represents a synthesis between a cardiosurgical operating room and a cardiac cath lab. In addition to conventional OR equipment including a heart-lung machine and a complete angiography system, it also features a C-arm which is capable of revolving around the patient, thus providing images similar to the scans generated by a CT scanner. These new hybrid operating rooms enable surgeons and cardiologists to efficiently perform new and promising treatment procedures, especially in the fields of heart and vascular surgery, e.g. heart valve implantations and the insertion of stents in the thoracic aorta.