Cardiac centres of excellence. 'Royal Brompton': the specialist centre in London that specialist centres consult.

It may be diagnosing Thalassaemia with magnetic resonance, navigating catheters round tight corners with magnets, or treating Marfan's syndrome with the Brompton Sheath--but if it is state of the art and it works, the Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, London, will almost certainly have pioneered it, reports Barry Shurlock MA, PhD.