SPY in Cardiac Surgery

SPY Imaging Results in Quality Improvements in CABG

SPY Imaging allows cardiac surgeons to visually assess the quality of blood flow in coronary vessels and myocardial perfusion during the course of the CABG procedure. SPY provides surgeons with clinically relevant information that may help the surgeon to make better informed decisions, eliminate the potential for costly post-operative complications and the need for repeat surgery.

Before SPY, there was no practical, routine method of visually assessing bypass graft quality during CABG surgery. Although x-ray angiography is the gold standard, it is often not practical in the cardiac operating room due to safety concerns related to radiation and the extra time and equipment required to perform the procedure. The SPY procedure does not involve ionizing radiation, which eliminates many safety concerns and can be accomplished without adding a significant amount of time to the surgical procedure or the need for additional personnel.

Use of SPY Imaging, in cardiac surgery alone has been the subject of more than 20 peer-reviewed journal articles. Reports published in 2005 and in 2009, showed a 97% correlation between SPY images and x-ray angiography. Another recent study of more than 2,300 patients concluded that the use of SPY during CABG resulted in a significant 42% reduction of peri-operative Myocardial injury compared to those procedures not involving SPY. Myocardial infarction has been shown to significantly lengthen hospital stays and increase the cost of caring for CABG patients.

In May 2009, Bruce Ferguson, MD, of the East Carolina Heart Institute, reported results on nearly 300 patients enrolled in the SPY VICTORIA™ Cardiac Surgery Registry. VICTORIA compares the clinical outcomes of patients undergoing CABG with SPY to expected outcomes in the STS National Cardiac Database benchmark.  Dr. Ferguson concluded that: a) the use of SPY resulted in consistently better outcomes for major morbidities including stroke, death, post-op renal failure, prolonged ventilation, sternal wound infection and length of stay; and b) the reduction in the incidence of major adverse events can result in significant cost savings for hospitals.

Additionally, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) confirmed that the use of SPY during CABG reduced hospital costs by improving outcomes. CMS independently determined that across all 4 CABG MS-DRGs, using SPY resulted in a shorter length of stay and costs reductions ranging from $1973 - $4628.