School of Thrombectomy-A 3-Step Approach to Perform Acute Stroke Treatment with Simulator Training and Virtual...

As the number of neurointerventional procedures continues to increase, so does the need for well-trained neurointerventionalists. The purpose of this work was to establish and assess a systematic 3‑step approach to perform acute stroke treatment including simulator training and virtual supervision by remote streaming support (RESS). Five trainees (four men, one women) who have completed the 3‑step approach have answered an 11-item questionnaire (5-point Likert scale) in order to evaluate training step 1 (simulator). Furthermore, all trainees and one supervisor (female) answered a standardized questionnaire following the initial 15 consecutive thrombectomies for each trainee, corresponding to a total of 75 thrombectomies. The simulator training yielded learning benefits and confidence gain to perform MT on patients. The RESS approach facilitated the translation during the first independently performed thrombectomies on patients. In summary, the presented 3‑step approach increases the level of safety, as reported by the trainees and supervisor in this study and may enable an accelerated training of neurointerventionalists.