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As 2023 draws to a close, a year rich in major milestones for IRCAD, including the opening of IRCAD Africa in Kigali, IRCAD India in Indore, and the advances made by IRCAD China and IRCAD North America, we wanted to give a voice to the institutes on every continent that make up the richness of the IRCAD scientific community.
In these uncertain times on the international political stage, the scientific synergies between key faculty members of the IRCAD network, and their determination to improve healthcare for patients all over the world, represent a source of hope and progress. “I believe that the future of humanity lies in the progress of reason through science”, said Emile Zola. This ideal is shared by all experts who make up the IRCAD family. Wherever they come from, they are passionately committed to medical progress for the benefit of patients. Scientific exchanges on practices implemented in a broad range of environments (geographical, economic, demographic, etc.) constitute a source of enrichment for all, both trainers and surgeons in training. Their exchanges encourage us to reflect on the best possible use of technology to truly democratize access to care.
This sharing is a strength, and it is on this note of resolute optimism that the IRCAD teams hope to conclude 2023.
“The year 2023 was marked by the 15th anniversary of IRCAD Taiwan, the first of IRCAD France’s mirror institutes to come into existence. The project was driven by the desire to develop minimally invasive surgery through fruitful exchanges between the world’s leading surgeons. Every year, we organize over a hundred training courses and train more than 8,800 surgeons. The Institute has also benefited from increased scientific exchanges, as the IRCAD family has expanded over the years. These exchanges are all the more significant at a time when the rise of technologies such as artificial intelligence is boosting the potential of minimally invasive diagnostic and treatment technologies decisively.”
Professor Jacques Marescaux
President and Founder of IRCAD
2024: the mirror institutes of IRCAD France more than ever committed to advancing healthcare worldwide
Wayne Huang
Dean, IRCAD Taiwan
The year 2023 marked the 15th anniversary of IRCAD Taiwan, the inaugural mirror institute of IRCAD France. The project was fueled by the aspiration to advance minimally invasive surgery through enriching interactions among the world’s foremost surgeons. Annually, we host over a hundred training courses, educating more than 8800 surgeons. The Institute has also experienced heightened scientific exchanges, given the expansion of the IRCAD Family over the years. These exchanges are particularly crucial at a juncture when the ascent of technologies like artificial intelligence is amplifying the potential of minimally invasive diagnostic and treatment technologies tenfold.
Armando Melani
Scientific Director, IRCAD America Latina
Adjacent to the Barretos Hospital, one of the leading cancer care centers in Latin America, the IRCAD America Latina in Barretos, in the state of São Paulo, has been involved in training and research against cancer in conjunction with the IRCAD France for over 12 years. It has been joined by a second institute based in Rio de Janeiro, supported by United Health, one of the largest healthcare insurance companies in the United States. Both institutes are dedicated to improving access to the best treatment modalities for patients in Brazil, which has a population of over 200 million, and beyond that, to training surgeons from all over Latin America. Today, some 2,500 surgeons have been trained to the highest standards of minimally invasive surgery, offering a real opportunity for patients.
Antoine Maalouf
Director, IRCAD Lebanon
IRCAD Lebanon, the fourth mirror institute of IRCAD France, was stricken by the devastating explosion in the port of Beirut in 2020. Since then, while reconstruction work has continued, IRCAD Lebanon can rely on dynamic relations with its mirror institutes on other continents to nurture scientific exchanges. This is the strength of the IRCAD network, which, beyond its physical sites and thanks to the scope and rigour of the WebSurg online university, allows us to stand by a network of solidarity, beyond crisis and conflict. The year 2024 will be filled with many challenges, which the IRCAD centers are sure to rise to.
King Kayondo
President, IRCAD Africa
Following the official opening of IRCAD Africa on October 7, 2023, and the success of the first training courses for surgeons from all over Africa (in digestive, pediatric, arthroscopic, and urologic surgery), we are looking forward to the next steps in 2024, which will bring concrete, decisive progress in improving healthcare in Rwanda, Africa, and the rest of the world (e.g., improved pregnancy monitoring, early tumor detection, training in minimally invasive laparoscopic, robotic, and percutaneous surgery techniques). IRCAD Africa works alongside IRCAD France to provide relevant, effective, and efficient solutions to improve healthcare in the most economically constrained environments.
Mohit Bhandari
President, IRCAD India
The year 2023 saw India join the IRCAD family, with the inauguration of the Indore site in central India on November 24. A total of 7,000 sq. m will be dedicated to training in laparoscopic surgery, flexible endoscopy, and robotic surgery. India is a country where minimally invasive surgery, particularly robotic surgery, has experienced a remarkable development in recent decades, but the needs remain considerable, and IRCAD India aims to help meet them. In addition, from 2024 onwards, a hotel structure will be set up adjacent to the IRCAD India facility to encourage international exchanges and the training of surgeons by bringing in the best international experts. Our ambition is to become a regional hub for surgical training.
Sanghoo Kim
Director, IRCAD China
The year 2023 was also marked by the launch of construction work for the ambitious facility that will host IRCAD China, the 7th IRCAD mirror institute, a project carried out in partnership with South Korean teams. Located in Wuxi, in the province of Jangsu, not far from Shanghai, IRCAD China aims to offer cutting-edge training to surgeons from neighboring cities. The integration of this institute into the “IRCAD family” will also be a source of fruitful exchanges in terms of surgical practices and research, both on the Asian continent and internationally. We therefore look forward to the opening of the Wuxi Institute in the near future.
Dionisios Vrochides
Organization’s executive director, IRCAD North America
2023 has been a year of gestation for an extraordinarily ambitious project: IRCAD North America, the fruit of collaboration between IRCAD France and Atrium Health, one of the leaders in the US healthcare sector. This center will be one of the gems of the health technopole that will bring together the best talents in healthcare innovation in Charlotte, North Carolina. Scheduled to open in 2025, IRCAD North America will benefit not only from the resources of the IRCAD network, but also from a particularly productive university-hospital environment to develop not only training programs, but also the innovations that are essential to improving patient care, particularly in the field of cancer.
About IRCAD
Founded in 1994 by Professor Jacques Marescaux, IRCAD is an institute dedicated to training and research in minimally invasive surgery. This Strasbourg-based institute is globally recognized for the excellence of its training programs, which serve nearly 8,800 surgeons from around the world each year. Additionally, IRCAD offers virtual training through the Websurg online university, which is entirely free of charge and has over 470,000 members connected worldwide.
For more information, please visit https://www.ircad.com
We hope you enjoy reading the 9th issue of the IRCAD newsletter.
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