For people who have multiple health conditions, fixing one can sometimes lead to problems with the other. Now, some doctors are using new technology  which precisely controls and measures the amount of dye used in heart catheterizations and other procedures requiring imaging. For some patients, the dye itself can be toxic if the kidneys can’t flush it out of the system.

“I love her. She’s the best mother. I wouldn’t want any other,” Vincent Bowlin said. He’s  is very concerned about his mother Mary, who’s undergoing a heart catheterization. Mary is also diabetic. Her kidneys don’t function fully, making the procedure, which uses contrast dye, a risky one.

“When someone needs multiple procedures, one after another, each procedure puts them at risk for furthering kidney damage. And so if we can save the contrast dye at each step, we can then prevent a worse outcome in terms of her kidneys,” Anand Prasad, MD, FACC, FSCAI, RPVI, Associate Professor of Medicine at UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, Interventional Cardiologist at University Hospital stated.

Doctor Prasad was the first in the U.S. to use DyeVert Plus, which precisely measures the right amount of contrast dye.

Doctor Prasad explained, “The dye itself is toxic to the kidneys and when someone has impaired renal function, they don’t excrete the dye like they should, so it sits there causing more and more damage.” 

DyeVert uses Bluetooth wireless signals to give doctors real-time tracking of contrast dye, so patients aren’t getting any more than they really need. 

DyeVert Plus received FDA clearance earlier this year. The system is now being used at hospitals across the country.