At Maimonides, we have pioneered some of the most sophisticated procedures in medicine. The Medical Center recognized early on that investing in technology would dramatically improve patient care, reduce errors and speed decision-making.
In 1981, the first fine needle aspiration biopsy in the nation was done here, eliminating the need for surgery and hospitalization. Today, this procedure is widely used in the diagnosis of cancer.
In 2001, Maimonides was the first US hospital to use robotic surgery for pediatric patients. Robotic surgery allows the surgeon to use computer imagery to guide robotic arms during surgery, far more precisely than those of a human hand. Today, robotic surgery is employed in a wide range of procedures.
Below are just a few more of our acheivements:
1961
Commercial pacemaker developed
in the Maimonides Research Laboratory
1966
Implantation of first mechanical heart
1970
Intra-aortic balloon pump developed in the Research Lab.
This and the pacemaker continue to
save lives today
1981
First “day” hospital for cancer patients
offering outpatient chemotherapy
1982
Surgical technique developed by Joseph Cunningham, MD
to detect and reduce spinal cord ischemic
injury during repair of aortic aneurysms
1983
First angioplasty during a heart attack performed by Jacob Shani, MD
1992
The Shani Right, a specialized catheter,
invented by and named for Dr. Shani
1997
Dr. Shani invents wrist clamp to aid in radial artery catheterization.
Maimonides is one of the first hospitals nationwide to introduce a computerized order entry system. Allowing doctors to enter prescriptions, lab test requests and view results, greatly decreasing medication errors.
2001
First hospital in the United States to implement
fully automatic external cardiac defibrillators at the bedside
2005
One of 40 hospitals in the US reversing
stroke symptoms with interventional neuroradiology techniques
Today
Maimonides boasts an extensive information technology system that allows
staff physicians and patients’ private doctors to electronically access clinical records and radiologic images—in a patient’s room, off-site or even at home. Doctors have access to a patient’s medical record when they need it most.