What is Research Developments

Thirty years ago, heart surgery was virtually unknown. Since then it
has developed with what Sir Thomas Holmes Sellors has described as
“almost explosive violence”. This has been made possible, not so much by
increased surgical skill, as by the use of techniques and devices developed
by research workers.
Research has improved the accuracy of diagnosis enabling the surgeon
to operate with a far greater success than was possible only a few years ago.
Until a few years ago the only diagnostic ‘tool’ available was the
stethoscope. As a result of intensive research into the application of
electronic and radioactive methods in the diagnosis of abnormalities in the
structure of the heart, the exact malformations present can be determined
before any treatment is undertaken. The sounds made by the beating heart
can be magnified and recorded photographically as can the electrical
impulses generated by the heart muscle. Details of the heart structure can be
revealed by injecting contrast media into the circulation and taking X-rays
as they pass round the vessels and chambers of the heart.
Not only can the anatomy of the heart be seen by this method but the
blood flow through its structure can be determined. The principles of
magnetic resonance are now also being used to show both the structure of
the heart on a screen and to determine any abnormalities in the chemical
make-up of the heart muscle without any operation as far as the patient is
concerned.                                                                                                                                                                                                  More recently, the technique of ultrasound has been developed on the
heart from outside the chest and the structures of the heart reflect this and
same principle as depth finders in ships. An ultrasonic beam transverses the
the reflections can be built into a photographic picture as on a
screen.