With the Avail Platform, Collaborators participating in STAR — the Stroke Thrombectomy and Aneurysm Registry — Can Lean on each other and Work Together, Regardless of Location or Hour.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – May 3, 2022 – Avail Medsystems, a healthcare technology company whose surgical telepresence platform facilitates real-time, interactive collaboration during live procedures among a network of physicians and medical device industry representatives, today announced that it has entered into a partnership with the Stroke Thrombectomy and Aneurysm Registry (STAR), led by Alejandro M. Spiotta, M.D., from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).
STAR supports the global tracking and study of health outcomes after endovascular treatment for stroke, brain aneurysm, or other cerebrovascular diseases, with the goal of improving physicians’ precision in choosing effective therapies for patients with these conditions. Researchers at 94 participating institutions across the world including Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, Mount Sinai Health System, Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, and Baylor College of Medicine, use the registry data to publish papers describing new techniques, devices, and expertise that have the potential to boost neurosurgical acumen and patient care.
STAR Principal Investigator Dr. Spiotta, a STAR registry co-founder, believes that physicians who share experiences with their colleagues are better prepared to improve their skills, adopt cutting-edge ideas, and help patients who previously would have been considered untreatable. Yet, collaboration typically requires travel, and for many physicians, the burdens of cost and time mean that these trips can only happen a few times a year.
To promote STAR members to engage in the collaboration and storytelling needed to advance neurological care, Dr. Spiotta decided to implement a technology that would allow STAR members to observe and collaborate during each other’s procedures and offer guidance any time — without leaving their own practices. He selected the Avail System because it allows surgeons immediate, on-demand connection both within the STAR network and across Avail’s broader network of physicians and industry, at the touch of a button through high-definition video, two-way audio, and surgical imaging views.
“Sometimes, we just need to talk a procedure through with a peer or see someone else do it to know it’s possible; that’s how we push each other to improve,” said Dr. Spiotta, a professor of neurosurgery and neuroendovascular surgery at MUSC and the director of its Neuroendovascular Surgery Division. “The next generation of neuroendovascular surgeons is always smarter than the last because we learn from each other’s stories. Each story has a lesson – a new technique, new approach or novel strategy – that we can apply to help the next patient. Avail takes storytelling to the next level by allowing us to share live procedural experiences with any of our STAR collaborators in every corner of the world. It breaks down barriers and connects all of us in an international network to a degree that was not previously possible and will help propel the field forward as an experience and knowledge accelerator.”
The partnership between Avail and STAR will facilitate implementation of the Avail platform and network across the STAR network of member institutions, several of which already have an Avail console on site, so that they can broadcast live procedures while communicating with remote viewers via a simple app available on iPads and laptops.
“We are very excited to be working with STAR because we share its goals of enhancing learning opportunities and patient care by supporting collaboration among neurosurgeons,” said Daniel Hawkins, CEO of Avail. “We expect that the exchange of knowledge among this outstanding group of dedicated researchers will elevate care for those affected by stroke or aneurysm, making this partnership as life-changing for patients as it is practice-changing for physicians.”
About Avail Medsystems
Avail Medsystems is a pioneering healthcare technology company based in Silicon Valley. Its product, the Avail surgical telepresence platform, is designed to seamlessly connect physicians and care teams to remote experts and device industry representatives to facilitate collaboration during medical procedures. Avail’s immersive hardware and software platform enables instant, HIPAA-HITECH protected two-way audio/visual communication with high-definition video and surgical imaging views and telestration capabilities. Avail offers a SaaS-based pricing model without a capital equipment purchase and includes a comprehensive approach to service and support. For more information about Avail Medsystems, visit Avail.io and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
About STAR
The STAR registry is hosted by the Department of Neurosurgery at the Medical University of South Carolina, and collaborators across the country have access to the data by request analyses for pertinent questions. To date, STAR has enrolled more than 100 centers in the U.S. and globally with new centers enrolling as we move forward. Currently greater than 10,000 strokes and 5,000 aneurysms have been enrolled. STAR collaborators have contributed greater than 30 publications of original research in peer reviewed publications.
View the press release on PR Newswire.
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