With one year of CAS-One IR use in the region (at Gold Coast University Hospital) - we decided it was worthwhile to go to the regional IR congress - IRSA, held this year in Brisbane. Our initial feedback is the trip was a great investment, as we spoke to 30+ new physicians, learned about tumor ablation and economics in the region, and walked away with many hospitals deciding it was worth the effort to start to investigate how to bring CAS-One IR into their facility.
We of course had a full booth - as whenever a new technology enters a region, there is significant interest.
We gave many demonstrations and physicians realized the value of planning, placement, and of course, ablation confirmation. More and more IRs realize that while CAS-One IR can help plan and execute difficult trajectories - but those are the minority of cases - however, ablation confirmation is necessary in every case. This seemed to resonate easily with the audience.
The scientific agenda did feature a surgeon who was forward-looking - revealing he thought surgery for liver tumors would be extremely minimal in 10 years as technology and evidence are pushing patients towards less invasive options. Also, he found ablation had enabled thier hospital to keep more patients on the transplant list, for longer.
CASCINATION appeared on the scientific agenda where Dr. Muddassir Rashid reminded the group of the COLLISION trial, and dug into the COVER-ALL study as well - spending significant time on the importance of margins, and how CAS-One IR has made challenging cases easy for him. He had multiple videos and screenshots of his CAS-One IR use that the audience subsequently asked about.
Finally - we hosted our own scientific evening event, where a smaller group gathered to hear from our founder and CEO, Stefan Weber, as well as Dr. Rashid and his team's experience with CAS-One IR through the first year. Questions around anesthesia, actual learning curve, which types of cases are best for CAS-One IR, were the focus. It was great to have his lead radiographer, Nicole Brown, present to speak from her point of view.
Dr. Rashid highlighted his recent "Top Case" a lesion close to the heart, and how they easily completed the case in 45 minutes. The full case can be seen here
This small group is often the best because it is easier to ask questions and discuss - we apologize for making people late to their dinner appointments with the ongoing discussions!
Thanks for the excellent organization by the IRSA committee - it is highly likely we will return in 2027!
