The National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) annual flagship event, the 29th Annual Singapore LIVE (Live Interventions in Vascular Endotherapy) Course ran successfully from 15 to 18 January 2020.
Better known as SingLIVE, the course marked its second year of being independently run by NHCS.
1,100 INTERNATIONAL AND LOCAL PARTICIPANTS
23 LIVE CASE TRANSMISSIONS
9 TRANSMISSION CENTRES
10TH CTO INTERVENTIONS LIVE COURSE
The 29th SingLIVE Course kicked off with the 10th CTO Interventions LIVE Course - catered specifically for the challenging field of CTO (chronic total occlusions) PCI (percutaneous coronary interventions). This year’s edition featured numerous live transmissions including a renowned CTO centre, Guangdong Provincial
Cardiovascular Institute, China.
IMAGING AND PHYSIOLOGY ASSESSMENT COURSE
The Imaging and Physiology Assessment Course, specially designed for interventionists, nursing and allied health professionals, was well-attended with coverage on the use of adjunctive PCI modalities such as intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fractional flow reserve (FFR) measurements in making more qualified judgements in the day-to-day management of coronary artery disease.
Learning from experts
The highly regarded interventional cardiologist in coronary stenting, Prof Antonio Colombo, had all eyes on the big screen as he tackled the complex left main anatomy live from NHCS, together with Asst Prof Chin Chee Yang from the Department of Cardiology, NHCS. Prof Colombo pioneered the concept of adequate stent deployment during coronary interventions. In another live case, the challenging procedure of closing a patent foramen ovale was carried out on a young patient by NHCS doctors, Assoc Prof Tan Ju Le and Dr Muhammad Idu Bin Jion. Alongside was Prof Eric Eeckhout from the Faculty of Medicine and Biology, University of Lausanne, Switzerland, as the expert commentator. Prof Eeckhout, the Director of the Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory at Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), is also the co-director of SingLIVE.
Showcasing new techniques
A one of its kind transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) technique by the CHUV team, transmitted live from Switzerland, demonstrated how hypnosis by a trained specialist allowed the use of sedation and avoided general anaesthesia while having the ability of arousing the patient if concerns of stroke arose during the procedure. Dr Jonathan Hill, Consultant Cardiologist from King’s College Hospital and Asst Prof Ho Kay Woon from NHCS demonstrated a new procedure, which has been shaking up the PCI scene - intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) which can be used to break up hard plaque in arteries via sonic pulses. On the local front, the team from Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) led by Prof Paul Ong, Head of the Interventional Cardiology Department, TTSH, showed the use of a robotic arm in the assistance of minute yet vital surgical manoeuvres.
Hands-on opportunities
The Training Village at SingLIVE 2020 was significantly enhanced with variety of handson training sessions. The Philips training village, for instance, displayed the latest equipment with capabilities to conduct an assessment of a myriad of modalities, which previously was not available.
Riding on the interest of virtual reality (VR) technology introduced last year, participants of the TAVI teaching class had the opportunity to immerse in the experience of performing a TAVI procedure – via an all new and improved VR goggle, featuring a 180-degree visual field with threedimensional effect.
Recognising the best
Assoc Prof Paul Hsien-Li Kao (centre), together with faculty members and course directors of SingLIVE 2020.
Assoc Prof Paul Hsien-Li Kao from the National Taiwan University School of Medicine was the recipient of the Chien Foundation Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cardiovascular Intervention.
The annual award recognises an interventional cardiologist who contributes significantly to the promotion and advancement of interventional cardiology especially in the Asia-Pacific region.
Post-course: Balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) workshop
A dedicated half-day course hosted by Assoc Prof Lim Soo Teik, Deputy Medical Director and Director of the Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory of NHCS, imparted management principles and practical knowledge on the set-up, performance, complications and the latest approaches to BPA.
This article is from Murmurs Issue 36 (January – April 2020). Click here to read the full issue.
