Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane has purchased a heart probe that gives physicians the ability to create three-dimensional images of the inside of the heart and to see a complete valve from multiple angles while the heart is beating.

The probe, a 3-D transesophageal echo, is guided down a heart patient's esophagus—the heart and esophagus touch—until it is near the heart, where ultrasound waves, which the probe both transmits and receives, are activated, says Dr. Michael P. Williams, a cardiologist at the hospital and medical director of the echo cardiography laboratory. The ultrasound data is sent to a processor in a computer that constructs images of the heart.

The tool is used primarily to help evaluate patients who have valve disease and may need surgery, Williams says. The new probe gives surgeons and cardiologists the enhanced ability to develop a comprehensive plan before an incision is made for surgery.

"It gives physicians a computerized reconstruction of anatomical detail very similar to what the surgeon will see during open-heart surgery," Williams says. In this context, he says, the word "echo" refers to ultrasound waves used in the cardiac imaging. The probe—manufactured by Philips Healthcare, which is part of Netherlands-based Royal Philips Electronics—costs approximately $100,000, although Sacred Heart was able to pay a somewhat lower price.

Williams says Sacred Heart has been using the 3-D transesophageal echo for about three weeks. In the past, physicians were limited to viewing two-dimensional images created by a similar probe, but it didn't allow visualization of the entire valve, Williams says.

"The cost of this (3-D transesophageal) is the same as a 2-D," he says. The procedure is covered by most insurance policies, he adds.

The tool will allow more precise assessment of the extent and severity of valve disease, and the improved assessment capability will lead the surgeon and cardiologist to the best treatment, including valve replacement or repair, Williams says.

The probe connects to an iE33 echocardiography system, which also is manufactured by Philips Healthcare. The iE33 costs between $250,000 and $350,000, depending on which features a hospital chooses, says Philips Healthcare spokesman Steve Kelly, in Bothell, Wash. Sacred Heart bought the iE33 system earlier and already has been using it for cardiac echo tests.