The world-famous training center of the Institute for Research into Cancer of the Digestive System (IRCAD) has confirmed the status of the only official representative in Russia and the CIS countries for Smart Medicine NGO. This exclusive partnership also extends to closer connections with the IRCAD-founded European Institute of TeleSurgery (IRCAD-EITS) and the world's largest e-learning portal for surgeons, WebSurg (World Electronic Book of Surgery), available in 7 languages, including Russian.
Image: IRCAD France headquarters
After two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, surgical oncologists from the CIS countries and Russia may leverage the opportunity to attend advanced hands-on IRCAD training courses in Strasbourg (France) and Taiwan with a special 30% discount offer. Meanwhile, IRCAD experts at minimally invasive surgery training center would join online, if invited as speakers, the hybrid scientific and educational events for fellow surgeons that Smart Medicine hosts or organizes in a bundle with Russian-based oncology research institutes.
The purpose of this partnership is to renew the cycle of hands-on skills enhancement and fill the gap in scientific communications among professionals to improve cancer patients’ longevity and quality of life.
Image: IRCAD France simulation center
This collaboration has become reality after two signal events took place in 2020-2021.
At the very beginning of the world’s pandemic, the team of Russian-based “Medicine Today” company – an experienced business travel and MICE agency engaged into advanced medical education events for healthcare workers since 2013, and the only official representative of IRCAD in Russia and the CIS region – has experienced digital transformation by launching new projects: tele-education supported by simultaneous translation, and mobile applications of its own, including those with augmented reality for medical specialists’ distant trainings. A completely new company, Smart Medicine NGO was born, aimed to nurture and promote “medicine of tomorrow”, and dedicated to maintaining relationship continuity and cooperation with all former partners in global healthcare improvement.
The second event that boosted cooperation revival was Katerina Yarova’s joining Smart Medicine as CEO (she is also a visiting lecturer for the Department of Innovation Management at the HSE University). In 2013, in Strasbourg, Katerina as CEO at “Medicine Today” met the founder and president of IRCAD, Professor Jacques Marescaux – the first surgeon in history to perform a transatlantic surgical operation, – and they signed an exclusive representation agreement.
This long-term cooperation inspired new projects to come: the online university of IRCAD, WebSurg portal, was translated into Russian, and a special discount offer for surgical oncologists of the Russian Far East was granted by the IRCAD branch in Taiwan. In 2019, Katerina Yarova became an honorary invited guest and the only representative of the Russian region and CIS at the 25th anniversary of the IRCAD Institute in Strasbourg.
Image: Dr. Charles Souleyman Al Odeh (CTEB/Ircad), Katerina Yarova and Dr. Armando Melani (IRCAD America Latina), 25th anniversary of IRCAD
What is IRCAD:
The Institute for Research into Cancer of the Digestive System (IRCAD) was founded by Professor Jacques Marescaux in 1994 and is located on the premises of the Strasbourg University Hospital in France. IRCAD is recognized worldwide as a center of excellence in minimally invasive surgery. More than 3,500 doctors from all over the world annually take courses at the European Institute of TeleSurgery, created on the basis of IRCAD.
In 2001, Professor Marescaux performed the Lindbergh operation, which was revolutionary for the world of medicine, combining surgery with information technology. Operating a robotic console in New York, he skillfully removed the gallbladder of a patient who was at that time in Strasbourg. This experience determined the further philosophy of IRCAD.
IRCAD courses is endorsed by leading international associations:
The European Association of Endoscopic Surgery (EAES)
The Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES)
The International Pediatric Endosurgery Group (IPEG)
The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE)
The European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE)
And are accredited by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME), MedTech Europe and the European Union of Medical Professionals.
Sources: