SEATTLE
Seattle’s growing reputation as the premier center for training the world’s physicians in the latest medical innovations will get a major boost with the Aug. 6-9 Hands-On Otological Surgery Course at Seattle Science Foundation.
Twenty-nine Japanese physicians from that country’s leading hospitals and universities will attend an intensive four-day training seminar covering the best practices and latest techniques for performing delicate and complex ear surgeries intended to restore hearing or address other medical issues involving the inner ear.
Training for the seminar will come from 13 faculty members who are leading experts in the field from throughout the world, including physicians from the University of Washington, Swedish Neuroscience Institute and Virginia Mason. The program is co-sponsored by Seattle Science Foundation and Swedish Neuroscience Institute.
“This is a field where we are regularly seeing breakthroughs in how to best treat patients for better outcomes,” said Dr. Douglas D. Backous of the Center for Hearing and Skull Base Surgery at Swedish Neuroscience Institute, and the Otological Surgery Course Director.
Dr. Backous said the program will be a hands-on seminar where the attending physicians will develop their skills using the heads of cadavers. The training will take place in Seattle Science Foundation’s Bioskills Lab, a 4,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art operating room with up to 20 operating stations.
The agenda for the four-day seminar is packed with demonstrations and hands-on training in the latest intricate procedures. Some of the topics to be covered include:
- Ear canal incisions, implantable vestibular prostheses, and radiosurgery options for patients with ear and skull base disease;
- Dissection of cochlea and the carotid artery;
- Retrofacial air cell drill out; and
- Ossiculoplasty, tympanoplasty, mastoidectomy and labyrinthectomy.
“This is why the Seattle Science Foundation exists – to bring doctors together from throughout the world and teach them either in person or through live video hookups the very latest techniques in medicine,” Dr. Backous said. He added that bringing groups of talented physicians together for hands-on training not only advances the skills of the physicians but frequently leads to even greater medical advances through the exchange of ideas.
The Otological Surgery Course is another in a continuing series of programs at Seattle Science Foundation (SSF), which is dedicated to international collaboration among physicians, scientists, technologists, engineers and educators. Over the last year alone, SSF has trained more than 1,000 physicians and surgeons, and another 1,200 medical industry representatives, from across the country and around the world.
SSF was founded in 2006 as an independent, not-for-profit venue for medical professionals to collaborate in a neutral setting and participate in professional medical education, training, creative dialogue and innovation.
“Seattle Science Foundation is about bringing our area’s leadership in technology, science and medicine together to improve healthcare delivery throughout the world,” said Dave Sabey, a Founder and Chairman of the Board of Seattle Science Foundation, and President of Sabey Corp.
“Seattle has been a center of innovation in medicine, science and technology for decades, with cancer care from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, pioneering heart care by Dr. Lester Sauvage and others, advances in genomic research by Leroy Hood and technology from Boeing, Microsoft, Amazon and so many others,” Sabey said.
“Seattle Science Foundation builds on this legacy, promotes international relations and brings prestige, economic benefits and the sharpest minds and brightest talents in medicine to our community and region, and shares the latest medical advances across the Pacific Rim and around the world.”
Parts of the Otological Surgery training seminar will be video-conferenced to Kyoto, Kyushu and Miyazaki University Hospitals in Japan over a high-speed network infrastructure exclusive to research and education entities that allows live streaming 1,000 times faster than standard Internet.
Since its inception, Seattle Science Foundation has teleconferenced courses and interactive discussions to physicians and medical professionals in dozens of locations throughout the US and all over the world, including China, Colombia, Australia, India, Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Mexico, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Chile, Costa Rica, South Korea, Israel, Russia, Canada and Taiwan.
Other recent seminars at SSF include ONE Spine Master, a gathering of leading minds in orthopedic and neurological spine surgery, for presentation, discussion and debate of the most current controversies in spine surgery. ONE Spine is a national organization of spine surgeons committed to optimizing and unifying education and research among neurological and orthopedic spine surgeons to improve patient care.
“Seattle Science Foundation is absolutely unique in the world,” said Dr. Mark Reisman, Seattle Science Foundation Board President and Chief Scientific Officer of Swedish Heart and Vascular Institute. “There is no other place where physicians and industry can come together and learn about new technology, see what others are doing and use that knowledge to innovate as well as educate physicians. It is an incredible educational and development tool for the international medical community.”
About Seattle Science Foundation
The Seattle Science Foundation is a nonprofit organization that offers unparalleled professional training and educational resources for healthcare practitioners and the medical industry. Dedicated to collaboration, SSF provides a flexible venue, state-of-the-art facilities and extensive Internet connectivity designed to foster improvements in health care through professional medical education, training, creative dialogue and innovation. At SSF, physicians, scientists, technologists, engineers, and professionals from the medical device and pharmaceutical industries can come together with a single goal: to advance the quality of patient care. http://www.seattlesciencefoundation.org
About Swedish Neuroscience Institute
Swedish Neuroscience Institute (SNI) provides advanced, progressive treatment for a wide range of brain, spine and central nervous system conditions. With a roster of world-class neurologists and neurosurgeons, leading-edge operating rooms, TeleHealth access for patients outside the area and a specially trained Inpatient Neurology Team, SNI provides a level of care and compassion focused on improving outcomes and renewing hope. http://www.swedish.org/Services/Neuroscience-Institute
CONTACT
SSF
Joanie Block, 206-321-4431
or
Pacific Public Affairs
Ashley
Bach, 206-682-5066
