Seattle Science Foundation

MEDICAL EDUCATION, RESEARCH, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY BASED IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

SEE SCHEDULE OAT PROVIDENCE, WE USE OUR VOICE TO ADVOCATE FOR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS AND NEEDED REFORMS IN HEALTH CARE. WE PURSUE INNOVATIVE WAYS TO TRANSFORM HEALTH CARE BY KEEPING PEOPLE HEALTHY, AND MAKING OUR SERVICES MORE CONVENIENT, ACCESSIBLE AND AFFORDABLE FOR ALL. IN AN INCREASINGLY UNCERTAIN WORLD, WE ARE COMMITTED TO HIGH-QUALITY, COMPASSIONATE CARE FOR EVERYONE - REGARDLESS OF COVERAGE OR ABILITY TO PAY. WE HELP PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES BENEFIT FROM THE BEST HEALTH CARE MODEL FOR THE FUTURE - TODAY.TOGETHER, OUR 117,000 CAREGIVERS (ALL EMPLOYEES) SERVE IN 51 HOSPITALS, 1,000 CLINICS AND A COMPREHENSIVE RANGE OF SERVICES ACROSS ALASKA, CALIFORNIA, MONTANA, NEW MEXICO, OREGON, TEXAS AND WASHINGTON.THE SEATTLE SCIENCE FOUNDATION IS ADVANCING THE QUALITY OF PATIENT CARE THROUGH EDUCATION, RESEARCH, INNOVATION, AND TECHNOLOGY. THROUGH OUR INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION PLATFORM WE BRING TOGETHER MEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD AND PROVIDE ALL OF THE TOOLS NECESSARY FOR PHYSICIANS AND RESEARCHERS TO MAKE GROUNDBREAKING ADVANCEMENTS IN THE FIELD OF MEDICINE.PLANNED AND IMPLEMENTED 12 FULL AND MULTI-DAY CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION COURSES FOR PHYSICIANS, RESIDENTS, FELLOWS, MEDICAL STUDENTS, NURSES AND OTHER ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS. TOPICS INCLUDED:- 7TH ANNUAL INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO BRAIN TUMOR MANAGEMENT- 8TH ANNUAL ADVANCED LATERAL APPROACHES TO THE SPINE- 1ST ANNUAL IMAGE GUIDED INTERVENTIONAL SPINE PROCEDURES COURSE- 12TH ANNUAL MULTIMODAL SPINAL TUMORS- 10TH ANNUAL SSF SPINE MASTERS- 8TH ANNUAL MIS SPINE SYMPOSIUM- 13TH ANNUAL SSF SPINE RESIDENTS AND FELLOWS COURSE- 4TH ANNUAL ADVANCES IN MOTION PRESERVATION FOR THE SPINE- 7TH ANNUAL SPINAL DEFORMITY SYMPOSIUM- 9TH ANNUAL INTERVENTIONAL PAIN MANAGEMENT FELLOWS COURSE- 7TH ANNUAL ROBOTICS, ENDOSCOPY, EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND NAVIGATION COURSE (REETN)- 8TH ANNUAL SPINE TRAUMA SYMPOSIUMPLANNED AND IMPLEMENTED 10 REGULAR SCHEDULED CONFERENCES.- INTERESTING SPINE CASE DISCUSSION SERIES- YOUNG SURGEONS SERIES- STED TALK SERIES- ARTHROPLASTY TRIUMPHS & DEFEATS CASE DISCUSSION SERIES- CEREBROVASCULAR CONFERENCE- WASHINGTON STATE ORTHOPEDIC ASSOCIATION REGIONAL EDUCATION OUTREACH PROGRAM- NEUROSURGERY GRAND ROUNDS- NEUROLOGY GRAND ROUNDS AND CASE DISCUSSION CONFERENCE- VIRTUAL SPINE JOURNAL CLUB- PROVIDENCE MASTERS GRAND ROUNDSIN 2022, WE AWARDED 3,800 CME CREDITS FOR OUR ACCME ACCREDITED COURSES.WE CREATED 725 NEW EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS THAT WERE POSTED ONLINE FOR FREE, REACHING PHYSICIANS IN OVER 196 COUNTRIES WORLDWIDE.TOP COUNTRIES REACHED INCLUDE:- AUSTRIA- BRAZIL- CANADA- FRANCE- GERMANY- GREECE- HON KONG- INDIA- INDONESIA- JORDAN- KENYA- MALAYSIA- MEXICO- NIGERIA- PAKISTAN- PERU- POLAND- RUSSIA- SINGAPORE- TURKEY- UKRAINE- UNITED KINGDOM- UNITED STATES91% OF THE COMBINED ONLINE AND IN PERSON ATTENDEES IDENTIFIED AS MD OR DO.36% OF OUR COMBINED ONLINE AND IN PERSON ATTENDEES HAVE BEEN IN PRACTICE FOR 0-5 YEARS.AS A PHYSICIAN DRIVEN, OPEN ACCESS COMMUNICATION PLATFORM, WE WORKED WITH 336 VOLUNTEER FACULTY, BOTH NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY TO CREATE OUR OPEN ACCESS MEDICAL EDUCATION CONTENT AND TRAINING COURSES.IN 2022, WE REACHED 15 MILLION VIEWS ON OUR SSF YOUTUBE CHANNEL (WWW.SSFYOUTUBE.ORG).WE ALSO ADDED 22.5K NEW SUBSCRIBERS TO OUR SSF YOUTUBE CHANNEL.WE CONTINUED TO DEVELOP WEEKLY EDUCATIONAL TRAININGS FOR THE FOLLOWING SPINE TRAINING PROGRAMS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.- BARROW NEUROLOGICAL INSTITUTE- CEDARS SINAI- CENTER FOR SPINE AND ORTHOPEDICS- HOSPITAL FOR SPECIAL SURGERY- INDIANA SPINE GROUP- MAYO CLINIC- NORTON LEATHERMAN SPINE CENTER- PENN MEDICINE- ROTHMAN ORTHOPEDIC INSTITUTE- SWEDISH NEUROSCIENCE INSTITUTE- UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS- UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE- UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND- WEILL CORNELL- TEXAS BACK INSTITUTE- UC SAND FRANCISCOWE PROVIDED A SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM FOR FIVE STUDENTS IN 2022. DUE TO COVID, WE DID LIMIT OUR NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS, BUT STUDENTS ALSO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND ANY OF OUR COURSES FOR FREE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.- SUMMER RESEARCH PROJECT: HEART DISSECTION - AORTIC VALVE REPLACEMENT- CRACKING THE CHEST, THEY MADE A VERTICAL INCISION STARTING FROM THE STERNUM AND ENDING AROUND THE XIPHOID PROCESS. THEY THEN USED AN ORTHOPEDIC STERNUM SAW AND RIB SPREADER TO EXPOSE THE INSIDE OF THE THORAX. BELOW ARE SOME PHOTOS FROM THEIR FINAL PROJECT. THE STUDENTS ALSO PRESENTED THEIR FINAL PROJECT AT OUR WEEKLY ACADEMIC RESEARCH MEETING TO OUR SURGEONS AND FELLOWS.PARTICIPATED IN COMMUNITY OUTREACH ACTIVITIES FOR YOUNG STUDENTS, INCLUDING A VIRTUAL EDUCATION SESSION FOR K-5 CLASSROOMS FEATURING SWEDISH NEUROSCIENCE INSTITUTE NEUROSURGEONS.RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTSUNDER THE GUIDANCE OF JENS R. CHAPMAN, M.D., ROD J. OSKOUIAN, M.D., AND GLEN DAVID, M.D., A TOTAL OF FIVE (5) ATTENDING SPINE PHYSICIANS, ELEVEN (11) COMPLEX AND MINIMALLY INVASIVE SPINE SURGERY FELLOWS, THREE (3) RESEARCH FELLOWS (TRAINED ORTHOPEDIC SURGEONS FROM BOCHUM GERMANY) AS WELL AS ONE (1) INTERVENTIONAL PAIN MANAGEMENT FELLOW WERE ABLE TO COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING RESEARCH PROJECTS USING THE CADAVERIC SPECIMENS PROVIDED BY THE DE ROTHSCHILD FOUNDATION GRANT. PROJECT UPDATES AND LARGER GROUP DISCUSSIONS WERE HELD TWICE WEEKLY DURING THE MONDAY MORNING (7-8 A.M. PST) AND EVENING (5-6 P.M. PST) RESEARCH MEETINGS CONDUCTED BY DR. JENS CHAPMAN.CADAVERIC RESEARCH PROJECT HIGHLIGHT 1AS A RESULT OF THE FAR LATERAL APPROACH TO THE SPINE, MAKING AN IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE GENERAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE SURGICAL ANATOMY OF THE LUMBAR PLEXUS AND THEREFORE PLAYING AN ESSENTIAL ROLE IN PREVENTING THE GRAVE COMPLICATION OF AN INTRAOPERATIVE NERVE INJURY, FURTHER RESEARCH WAS INTENSIFIED. TO PROVIDE AN EVEN MORE ADVANCED KNOWLEDGE IN THE LUMBAR PLEXUS, WE INITIATED ANOTHER CADAVER STUDY, EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF THE PATIENT'S POSITION FOR INTRAOPERATIVE ANATOMICAL SITUATION.THE USE OF MINIMAL INVASIVE SURGERY (MIS) HAS GAINED POPULARITY OVER RECENT DECADES. IN THE SETTING OF SPINE SURGERY, INCLUDING SPINAL FUSIONS, LATERAL AND PRONE-LATERAL MIS APPROACHES HAVE SHOWN CLINICAL BENEFITS COMPARED TO STANDARD APPROACHES FOR LUMBAR SPINAL FUSIONS IN TERMS OF WOUND HEALING AND PATIENT RECOVERY. BUT COMPLICATIONS FOR MIS APPROACHES CAN BE DEVASTATING WITHOUT A PROFOUND UNDERSTANDING OF THE LUMBAR PLEXUS, WHICH IS A LIMITING FACTOR FOR LUMBAR SPINE SURGERY. STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO THE LUMBAR PLEXUS CAN END UP IN SEVERE NEUROLOGICAL IMPAIRMENT. BASED ON THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS, POSITIONING OF THE PATIENT CAN SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT THE MOVEMENT OF THE LUMBAR PLEXUS AND THEREFORE REDUCE THE RISK OF NERVE DAMAGE TO THE LUMBAR PLEXUS. UNTIL TODAY THE MOVEMENT OF THE LUMBAR PLEXUS IN THE CONTEXT OF DIFFERENT POSITIONING IS POORLY DESCRIBED IN THE LITERATURE.FINDINGS FROM THE CADAVERIC RESEARCH PROJECTS HAVE:- IMPROVED OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE LUMBAR PLEXUS ANATOMY UNDER PATIENT MOVEMENT. FOR INSTANCE, SINCE THE MOVEMENT OF THE LUMBAR PLEXUS SEEMS TO BE LOWER THAN EXPECTED, SURGEONS SHOULDN'T SOLELY RELY ON PATIENT POSITIONING TO MOVE THE LUMBAR PLEXUS OUT OF THE SURGICAL SITE TO AVOID PROCEDURE-RELATED COMPLICATIONS LIKE NERVE INJURIES. A DETAILED THREE DIMENSIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE LUMBAR PLEXUS, PROVIDED BY OUR STUDY COULD HELP PHYSICIANS TO GAIN FULL UNDERSTANDING OF THE PLEXUS ANATOMY.- INCREASED PATIENT OUTCOMES AND MINIMIZE POSITION-RELATED COMPLICATIONS FOR SURGICAL PROCEDURES RELATED TO THE LUMBAR SPINE AND THE LUMBAR PLEXUS.- DEMONSTRATED THE CLINICAL IMPACT PATIENT POSITION HAS ON SURGICAL PROCEDURE OUTCOMES.HYPOTHESIS:THE MOVEMENT OF THE LUMBAR PLEXUS BETWEEN LATERAL, PRONE, AND SUPINE POSITIONING OF A PATIENT SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTS THE ACCESSIBILITY OF THE LUMBAR SPINE AND LUMBAR DISC SPACES BY POSTERIORIZATION OF THE LUMBAR PLEXUS IN PRONE POSITION.