Doctors at Mount Sinai Medical Center are using a new robot to treat patients with irregular heartbeats.

The hospital is the first in the tri-state area to use the robot, called the Sensei, according to the hospital and the robot’s California-based manufacturer, Hansen Medical.

The Sensei enables doctors, using joysticks, to thread small wires into the patient’s heart, and to deliver an electrical shock to treat abnormal rhythms. Currently, such procedures are done manually.

“Compared to manual techniques most commonly used today, the robotic system gives us freedom to place the catheter in hard-to-reach parts of the heart,” an associate professor of medicine and cardiology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Dr. Davendra Mehta, said in a statement. So far, nine hospitals nationwide have installed the Sensei robot, a spokeswoman for Hansen Medical said.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the $700,000 robot in May.

Hansen Medical, which is expected to discuss its projected growth with investors today, is seeking to place 40 robots in hospitals nationwide in 2008, the spokeswoman said.

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NEW YORK EYE AND EAR OPENS EAR INSTITUTE

The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary plans to hold a ribbon cutting ceremony for its new Ear Institute on Monday. The $2.7 million facility, situated on Second Avenue between East 21st and 22nd streets, includes 15,150 square feet of space and 30 clinical areas. Hospital officials projected 15,000 patient visits annually.

The institute combines ear services from the Children’s Hearing Institute, the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, and Beth Israel Medical Center. It also houses a Center for Hearing and Balance Disorders, a Hearing and Learning Center, and a Cochlear Implant Center. A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted device that provides a sense of sound to deaf people.

The infirmary, anchored by its main facility on East 14th Street, is part of Continuum Health Partners, which includes St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center, Beth Israel Medical Center, and Long Island College Hospital. The infirmary was not affected by the Berger Commission recommendations in 2006.

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MOUNT SINAI RELAUNCHES MEDICAL JOURNAL

Mount Sinai School of Medicine relaunched its medical journal this week, with a mission to link researchers and physicians on various topics related to patient care. First published in 1934, the Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine is one of few medical publications associated with an individual hospital or medical school.

The refashioned publication will cover various topics, often with a strong connection to New York City. The current issue contains papers related to the 10th anniversary of Mount Sinai’s Department of Health Policy. An upcoming issue will focus on the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the health-related issues stemming from the collapse of the World Trade Center.

Two years ago, “there was a decision to take the journal to a new level,” its editor in chief and a professor of ophthalmology at Mount Sinai, Dr. Penny Asbell, said.

Dr. Asbell said that in contrast to journals that focus on specific areas of medicine, the Mount Sinai journal has a “diverse mission” and would include reviews of current research as well as feature articles geared toward clinicians.

The journal will be published six times annually.

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LAWMAKERS TO CREATE REGISTRY OF HOME HEALTH AIDES

Lawmakers are planning to introduce legislation in the coming weeks that will create a statewide registry of home health care aides. The legislation, drafted by Attorney General Cuomo, follows an investigation by Mr. Cuomo’s office last year that found widespread fraud in the home health care industry.

The legislation would create a database of home health aides, and it would list their employment history, training, and any disciplinary action taken against them, according to a source familiar with the developing legislation.

Earlier this year, Mr. Cuomo’s office identified schools that sold aides certificates without providing adequate training, as well as agencies that knowingly hired unqualified aides.

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NEW DIRECTOR AT HEALTH CARE COLLABORATIVE New York eHealth Collaborative, a public-private group that aims to improve health care quality through health information technology, has named Rachel Block as executive director, the group announced.

Ms. Block has served as interim director since helping to found the organization in 2007.

Since 2003, Ms. Block worked at the United Hospital Fund, and most recently she served as project manager for the fund’s Quality Strategies Initiative, which focused on technology as a way to improve patient safety at New York hospitals.

Prior to that, Ms. Block worked at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

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HEALTH FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES $6 MILLION IN GRANTS

The New York State Health Foundation has announced $6 million in “special opportunities” grants.

The grants will fund initiatives that address public health issues outside the group’s stated priority areas of reducing the number of uninsured New Yorkers and improving the health care of people with diabetes.

Under the “special opportunities” grant initiative, the foundation awarded 24 grants last year, including $200,000 for a health literacy program run by the Queens Library Foundation and $144,325 for a health program run by the Transition Network, a women’s group.

Last month, the foundation announced $16 million in grants to 72 organizations with programs aimed at addressing access, coverage, and cost concerns in the health care system and improving care for diabetes.

esolomont@nysun.com