Planning a Cath Lab Programme in Mauritius: Devices, Consignment and Case Support

A cath lab programme is a supply chain with a room attached

Building an interventional cardiology service is not only a capital project. The room, the imaging system and the team are the visible part. What decides whether the programme runs case after case is the device supply behind it: the right stent sizes on the shelf, the right wires in the drawer, a closure option for every access route, and a partner in the room when a new device is used for the first time.

Medtech has served hospitals across Mauritius, Seychelles and Madagascar for more than 30 years. This guide sets out the device categories a new or expanding cath lab must plan for, explains why consignment sizing matters more than any single purchase decision, and describes what clinical case support should look like on the day of the procedure.

Access to closure: mapping the device categories

Interventional portfolios are best organized around the procedure pathway. Cordis, a pioneer of interventional cardiology since 1957, structures its range across four steps: access, diagnose, intervene and close. We use the same frame when we help a hospital build its first stocking list.

Access

Femoral programmes start with sheath introducers such as the Cordis AVANTI+ line. Radial-first programmes need thin-walled options, and the Cordis RAIN Sheath transradial introducer sits within the wider RADIAL 360 portfolio, which covers the transradial pathway from puncture through guiding catheters to the ZEPHYR compression band at the end of the case. Decide your default access strategy early. It shapes sheath, catheter and closure stocking across the whole programme.

Diagnose

Diagnostic catheters and guidewires do the routine work of the lab. The Cordis INFINITI diagnostic catheter family and SUPERTORQUE Plus catheters, alongside ADROIT and VISTA BRITE TIP guiding catheters, form the workhorse layer. These are high-turnover items, so stock depth matters more than breadth in the first year.

Intervene

The therapy layer is where inventory value concentrates. Abbott's XIENCE family of everolimus-eluting coronary stents, including XIENCE Skypoint, XIENCE Sierra and XIENCE Alpine, carries more than 20 million implants worldwide and has been studied in over 120 clinical trials, with long-term safety data out to ten years. XIENCE Skypoint is available in lengths up to 48 mm for long lesions. Around the stent sit balloon catheters, interventional guidewires and the adjunct devices each operator prefers.

Image and measure

Modern PCI is guided by physiology and intravascular imaging, not angiography alone. Abbott's PressureWire X guidewire measures FFR, RFR, IMR and CFR wirelessly, and the OPTIS Next OCT platform with the Dragonfly OpStar imaging catheter and Ultreon software delivers high-definition vessel imaging with automated measurements for stent guidance. A lab that stocks for evidence-guided stenting from day one avoids retrofitting its workflow later.

Close

Closure is a programme decision, not an afterthought. Abbott's Perclose ProStyle suture-mediated system closes femoral artery and vein access sites and carries a track record of more than 20 million closures. Cordis adds the MYNXGRIP and MYNX CONTROL vascular closure devices, EXOSEAL, and the ZEPHYR compression band for radial strategies. Whatever mix your operators prefer, every access route needs a matching closure plan on the shelf before the first patient is draped.

The full interventional range is available through our cardiovascular portfolio.

The diagnostic chain that feeds the lab

A cath lab does not generate its own referrals. GE HealthCare's diagnostic cardiology line connects the front end of the service: the MAC VU360 resting ECG runs GE's 12SL analysis programme, the MUSE NX system streams cardiac data across a department with secure role-based access, and the Vivid cardiovascular ultrasound range covers echocardiography. Inside the lab itself, GE's Allia image guided systems, including the Allia IGS Pulse, are designed for cardiology intervention. Planning the diagnostic chain and the procedure room together keeps referral, reporting and intervention on one connected footing, and it is far easier to specify them together than to bolt them together later.

Standardized setup with custom procedure packs

Per-case setup is where hidden cost and variation live. Kimal, a UK manufacturer certified to ISO 13485, produces over one million sterile procedure packs a year in four Class 8 clean rooms. Its Pack+ Cardiology range offers universal angiography packs for diagnostic and interventional cases, plus fully customized packs for complex procedures such as TAVI, with components including manifolds, contrast delivery systems, guidewire bowls and radial closure devices. One pick per case instead of dozens of separate items shortens setup time and produces clean consumption data, which makes every later inventory decision more honest.

Why consignment sizing decides whether the programme works

A stent programme is a size matrix, not a product. Diameters multiplied by lengths produce a range no hospital wants to purchase outright, yet the patient on the table decides which cell of that matrix is needed tonight. Industry literature on cath lab inventory reports that consignment is the preferred model, particularly in busier labs: high-value items such as stents and balloons sit on the shelf without upfront purchase, the vendor rotates stock and swaps devices nearing expiry, and the lab pays only when an item is used.

That is exactly how our consignment service works. We hold the agreed size matrix on-site at no upfront cost, we monitor movement and replenish, and the hospital pays only for what is used. Sizing the matrix is joint work between our team and yours: expected case volume, operator preferences, access strategy and emergency coverage all feed the initial range, and real consumption data refines it over time. The result is supply certainty for the middle-of-the-night primary PCI without capital frozen on a shelf.

What in-theater case support looks like

Devices do not support themselves. Our clinical support model puts nurses, biomedical engineers and technicians alongside your team, face to face, in theater. In practice that means product specialists present for first cases on a new platform, preparation and troubleshooting support during procedures, and structured training that runs from basic operation to advanced features, delivered through our learning management system and CPD sessions with local accredited providers. The people who support your cases are the same people who maintain your installed equipment, so knowledge stays local and accountable.

For cardiology teams who want the clinical view of the specialty, our dedicated resource at cardio.mu goes deeper into the discipline itself.

Start the conversation

Book a consultation with our cardiovascular team to size a consignment-backed cath lab programme for your hospital.