Dr. Shigeru Saito and Dr. Ferdinand Kiemeneij receive Ethica Award

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12:00 CEST May 20, 2015 (Paris)
11:00 BST  May 20, 2015 (London)
06:00 EDT  May 20, 2015 (New York)

(Paris, France) – EuroPCR, the annual meeting of the European Association for Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI) and the world-leading course in interventional medicine, honoured Dr. Ferdinand Kiemeneij from the Netherlands and Dr. Shigeru Saito from Japan as this year's recipients of the 2015 Ethica Award. The award acknowledges their roles in pioneering and teaching the radial approach for coronary catheterization.

Each year the PCR Board and EuroPCR Course Directors bestow the Ethica Award on remarkable individuals who have significantly contributed to the field of cardiovascular intervention as teachers, innovators, scientists, care providers, or pioneers. Commenting on this year's award, Dr. William Wijns, EuroPCR Course Co-Director, observed that, "both of this year's winners are all of the above."

Course Co-Director of EuroPCR Dr. Jean Fajadet also praised the winners. "With Jean Marco in Toulouse, we were among the first to adopt radial access, as early as 1994. Since then, I had the privilege to work very closely with both Ferdinand and Shigeru in teaching the technique during numerous training sessions and LIVE demonstrations."

It's only recently that large randomized trials have started to establish the clinical benefits of a trans-radial approach, Wijns noted. Both Dr. Saito and Dr. Kiemeneij, however, recognized from the start that this was an interventional technique that put the patient first. "This is really an approach to diagnosis and therapy that puts patient comfort and "patient-friendly-ness" at its centre," Wijns said. "This is extremely important and it is at the heart of what we are trying to do with endovascular interventions. Patient comfort, patient-friendly: this is the ethos of interventional medicine, to reduce trauma, to reduce immobilization, and to improve patient quality of life."

Both Dr. Kiemeneij and Dr. Saito are internationally renowned for their contribution to developing technical aspects of trans radial interventions (TRI), as well as teaching colleagues from around the globe. Dr. Kiemeneij, Wijns noted, has developed a downloadable app called Kiemeneij's TRI-bune, "so that everyone can benefit from his expertise. Dr. Saito, quite apart from his work in the radial space, has spearheaded initiatives to allow the global evaluation of devices being tested for regulatory approval, potentially saving time, money, and the needless duplication of patient volunteers and physician commitment.

In accepting his award, Kiemeneij saluted the pioneering work of the late Lucien Campeau of the Montreal Heart Institute "who paved the way from the wrist to the heart," as well his own colleagues at Onze Lieve Vrouw Gasthuis in Amsterdam, who "gave up their comfortable femoral routine to explore the possibilities, promises and frontiers of transradial interventions."

"This award is definitely a most honourable one," Dr. Saito said. "Even now, I guess it might be a dream to achieve the Ethica Award with Dr. Ferdinand Kiemeneij."

The sentiment was echoed by Kiemeneij.

"A tremendous benefit of what transradial interventions has brought to me personally is the invaluable and profound friendship with Dr. Shigeru Saito. We have been working intensively together, with so many pioneers, friends and supporters. I have learned a lot from Dr. Saito and I deeply and honestly admire his technical and educational skills."

ENDS