John Toftegaard: Dr.Weinsaft

 My first week of immersion I witnessed several surgeries in the catheter lab each addressing a unique aspect of cardiac health. My first day I shadowed a treatment for a cardiac fibrillation. This involved the cauterización of the heart in such a way that the misfiring of one section no longer impacted the other section. I found this particularly interesting as I got to talk with the technician on staff that ran the guidance software the doctors used during the surgery. This technician explained how the doctor used one catheter to sense the heart itself and put together a 3d model that later would be referenced to cauterize the proper portions. The technicians also helped explain to me how each doctor and hospital has their preferences as to which technology they use and how their particular system excels in this surgery. This was particularly enlightening as I never realized how direct a role engineers have in the use of their devices during surgery.

Later in the week I shadowed several catheterization and stress test procedures. These were relatively short surgeries that were used to assess the impact a blockage in the patients coronary arteries would be. The use of a contrast dye in conjunction with X-ray imaging allowed for this diagnostic of restricted arteries. 

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