The catheterization laboratory and interventional vascular suite of the future: anticipating innovations in design and function.

摘要

Any attempt to forecast the function and design of the interventional catheterization laboratory and vascular suite presumes that current trends are an accurate window into the future. This must be recognized as a fallacious assumption; indeed, it can be quite amusing years later to review predictions of the future based on then-current proclivities. In fact, cardiovascular practice over the past 25 years suggests that one cannot predict accurately which innovations will succeed and which will fail based either on theoretical considerations or on initial clinical experience. Moreover, the "future" is a nebulous time and place; certainly, it anticipates progress that renders obsolete the current state of the art laboratory. It may be most practical to characterize the "medium" future, perhaps 5-10 years, rather than the "longer term" future, which grows increasingly indistinct. By beginning with certain economic and scientific realities, it may be possible to generate reasonable, educated guesses regarding the design and use of the catheterization laboratory and interventional vascular suite of the future.