Medical electronics & equipment - Department of Diagnostics

State-of-the-art cardiac diagnostics

The Department of Cardiology's Diagnostic Cardiology Unit is situated in close proximity to the interdisciplinary Emergency Department and the hospital's helicopter landing pad. All emergency and elective diagnostic cardiology procedures are performed in this Unit. In addition to serving patients from the Departments of Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery, the Unit also serves all other Departments of the Immanuel Hospital Bernau.



The total number of procedures requested every year currently stands at approximately 30,000, with that number continuing to rise year on year. This means that the Control Room has an integral role in ensuring the smooth day-to-day running of both inpatient and outpatient diagnostics, ensuring that urgent investigations are prioritized, as well as ensuring that scheduled investigations can go ahead as planned and on schedule.

Technical equipment

With regard to non-invasive diagnostics, the Unit offers all of the standard diagnostic procedures - supported by state-of-the-art equipment. As specialists in echocardiography, the Diagnostic Cardiology Unit has a dedicated echocardiography laboratory equipped with a total of three state-of-the-art echocardiography machines. The Unit performs approximately 7,000 echocardiography procedures every year. These include all preoperative and postoperative procedures required by patients from the Department of Cardiac Surgery, the Department of Cardiology, and the remaining Departments of the Immanuel Hospital Bernau. A 24-hour stand-by service ensures that procedures can be performed round-the-clock rather than just during normal working hours.

Services offered

• Echocardiography (cardiac ultrasound)
• Transthoracic echocardiography (2D, 3D and Doppler echo)
• Contrast echocardiography
• Transesophageal echocardiography
• Stress echocardiography; stress is usually drug-induced, and in specific cases a stationary bike is used to induce physical stress
• Specialist modern echocardiography techniques such as tissue Doppler imaging/strain rate imaging, AV timing optimization of CRT systems
• Electrocardiogram (ECG): 12-lead resting ECG, ambulatory ECG
• Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring
• Pacemaker function check (Pacemaker Outpatient Clinic)
• Ultrasound investigations of the blood vessels in the neck, arms and legs
• Stress ECG
• Exercise challenge spirometry (measuring the amount of air that can be inhaled and exhaled following physical exertion)
• Exercise challenge spirometry (as part of sports medicine-related procedures)
• Six minute walk test
• Cardiac MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) in direct cooperation with the Radiology Practice, which is based in the same building
• Cardiac CT (computed tomography) in direct cooperation with the Radiology Practice, which is based in the same building