Among the facility’s multi-million-dollar technology, which includes the latest Siemens Healthineers Artis One Imaging and Sensis equipment, is a glowing starry ceiling in the main procedure area.

The starry ceiling features thousands of LED lights, programmable through six settings that include a series of constellations. This helps relax the patients during procedures and help their recovery, says Intra’s medical director Professor John Ormiston.

“At Intra we want patients to have the best treatment, and the best possible patient experience. We know that having an investigation or treatment in hospital is pretty stressful, and the design features here, including the stars, help patients tolerate this time better, which aids their recovery. Certainly, the patients we have had here so far have said how much the stars help them to relax.

“Another unique feature of the facility is that we have the patient for the whole journey, in contrast to most facilities where they go to hospital, then to angiography suite, back to hospital then home. Our aim therefore was to create the best interventional facility in the world.”

Dr Michelle Dickinson said: “What we need as patients is to recover faster, to feel relaxed, to feel welcome. Everything here has been designed with so much detail. It’s a real treat for the North Shore to have this fantastic facility.”

Intra is formerly known as Mercy Angiography, and has a long-established facility at Mercy Hospital in Epsom.

Two of New Zealand and the world’s leading cardiologists recently joined forces to carry out the first procedure at the facility. Professor John Ormiston ONZM and Dr. Seif El-Jack joined forces to undertake the first case, in a 60-minute coronary angiography procedure to unblock an artery with a stent.

Professor Ormiston, Medical Director of Intra, says: “Our new facility is a symbol of our new name. Intra is all about providing image-guided healthcare – interventional cardiology, radiology, and oncology. We look within, shining a light inside the patient to identify what needs to happen, and then taking minimally-invasive steps when treating: safer procedures that promote quicker and easier patient recovery.

“Now we are on both sides of the Harbour Bridge, we have the right facilities in the right locations –able to treat people north of the harbour bridge and all the way across Northland. The new North Harbour Intra facility is a centre of excellence within Auckland.

“It was exciting to undertake the first procedure in our new facility, and I am so pleased to have worked with Seif as he is a great interventional cardiologist. The procedure went extremely well for the patient, and the new angiography suite passed its first big test with flying colours.

Intra CEO Elina Väisänen adds: “We have been leading the way in image-guided healthcare for 28 years since 1990, and we have now taken a big step forward as Intra, providing world-leading healthcare on both sides of the Harbour Bridge. Intra is where the very best treatment in New Zealand occurs: at both of our facilities Intra is entirely set up to improve patients’ lives, and the North Harbour site now provides accessibility for patients north of the Auckland CBD.”

Intra North Harbour video

ENDS