Dr. Sean D. Toomey is an orthopedic surgeon with Orthopedic Physician Associates (OPA) of Proliance Surgeons in Seattle, Washington. He specializes in robotic-assisted hip and knee replacement surgery and is very involved in educating other physicians on complex new technologies.
Since Dr. Toomey started using Avail Medsystems he has been able to train more physicians, more efficiently. This expedited training schedule means that Dr. Toomey’s team is approved to use new medical devices at their facility much quicker than they did in the past. As Dr. Toomey puts it, it’s much more feasible to take a two-hour break to watch a livestream than it is to take a two-day break to travel.
Avail is enabling MedTech companies the ability to be in more places at once, too. A MedTech rep can use Avail to join one of Dr. Toomey’s procedures in Seattle, then moments later virtually sit in on a procedure in London.
As an early adopter of Avail’s technology, Dr. Toomey has seen the value it adds to every individual involved in a procedure. Rather than having several medical professionals crowded around one table trying to get a good view, every remote participant can have the same precise view of what Dr. Toomey’s hands and tools are doing.
“The high-definition video quality and viewer-controlled zoom capability are superb, the system’s operation is streamlined and user-friendly, and the opportunity for two-way communication is key to facilitating dialogue between myself and the viewing audience,” writes Dr. Toomey for a recent article in Orthopaedic Product News. “It’s very satisfying to be able to offer my viewers “aha” moments, such as insights into extremity and retractor positioning…pearls for bone registration and execution of saw cuts or acetabular reaming, or even simply the best exposure tips and tricks to remove bone cement on a partial knee replacement.”
In the past, when Dr. Toomey would lecture at other sites, he was not able to demonstrate on an actual patient, since he doesn’t have operating privileges outside of his own room. “By using Avail to broadcast from my own surgical suite, I can share my demonstrations with colleagues at any facility in the world,” writes Dr. Toomey.
“By providing detailed visuals and allowing me to converse with observers as if they were in the room with me, the Avail Medsystem vastly increases the number of doctors and medical device representatives I can reach while reducing time spent traveling,” Dr. Toomey writes. His team now regularly uses Avail to observe and converse with experts in real time. As he puts it: “This kind of livestreaming is a highly valuable solution, as it vastly expands the number of surgeons who can watch a procedure.”
Now that Dr. Toomey has access to Avail, he is able to extend the reach of his expertise far beyond the Pacific Northwest. The result is the expedited approval and use of complex new technologies in the procedure room.