News & Updates

Transcript from Chairman’s Address, 23rd June 2022 1930hrs

“Good evening, and thank you for joining the Intraoperative Neurophysiology Society of Asia-Pacific’s extraordinary general meeting.

Whilst this is an online meeting, we acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we are meeting, and pay our respects to their Elders, past and present, and the Aboriginal Elders of other communities.

The INSA executive council is represented this evening by our Treasurer, Mr Anthony Kyte; Secretary Ms Yin May Lin; and myself as Chair and President. Apologies: Registrar and Public Officer, Ms Ruthie Dellow, Dr Brian Hsu, medical officer; Dr Kejia Teo, medical officer and Dr Adam Hastings, education and accreditation.

We are thankful to have the opportunity to host this long-overdue extraordinary general meeting, and we’re excited to inform members of the progress we’ve made towards our current strategic vision surrounding clinical education and accreditation relating to intraoperative neurophysiology within the Asia Pacific Region.

As per recent member correspondence, the executive council attempts to meet on a monthly or bi-monthly schedule. Naturally, this has been rendered challenging at times in consideration of demanding clinical workloads as practicing neuroscience professionals. However, we are optimistic that the goals we publicly outlined in September 2020 remain within our reach, the ultimate goal of course to produce a viable platform for ongoing education and accreditation of medical and scientific professionals relating to clinical electrophysiology within the intraoperative setting.

Phase One of the INSA strategic vision was designed to transition from the Australasian Association of Intraoperative Monitoring (AAIM), in order to promote a more inclusive and accessible society, which was unanimously supported by AAIM members. This included the introduction of our DISCOVERY platform, the prospect of formal strategic partnerships with tertiary institutions and hospitals, as well as research advocacy and increased exposure for member growth. We are pleased to inform members that since our re-launch we have maintained membership retention levels and observed a moderate increase of membership.

During this time, we have trialled an online registration system generated by Stripe and powered by MemberPress, which has received a mixed reception – and rightfully so. The functionality of this system was designed to “digitise” the “analog” membership processes previously endorsed by AAIM, however has resulted in some teething problems along the way with regard to recurring memberships. The executive council has since approved funds dedicated to re-design of this portal, which will still be via Stripe, with the hope of enabling more efficient membership processes. This will also include an updated website and education portal to more effectively organise our growing library of lectures and educational content.

The DISCOVERY platform itself has received positive feedback from members, and represents an inflection point synonymous with the purpose of scientific societies; that member value is most often derived from ongoing education and engagement. We are thankful for contributions from world-class neurosurgeons and neurophysiology professionals, including Prof Hugues Duffau, Prof Jay Shils, Dr Rich Vogel and Prof Kate Drummond. We are also pleased to announce our most recent profile on paediatric neurosurgeon and fellowship-trained neurophysiologist, Professor Francesco Sala, entitled ‘I don’t mind, I love New York’. This extensive profile explores the life and career of a world-leading and highly recognised surgeon-scientist, of which we hope will be of great value and interest to members. We are also introducing “10-minute IONM” lecturettes, the first of which was developed by Mr Anthony Kyte, exploring techniques relating to the monitoring and differentiation between the fifth and seventh cranial nerves in cerebellopontine angle surgery. Further to this, we intend on placing the spotlight on our members with ‘IONM-You’, which details people’s background and experiences in the field.

The executive council have also recently agreed to plan for an in-person workshop in quarter four of the calendar year 2022. The details of this workshop are yet to be defined, however it will likely be a single day conference-style workshop with multiple lectures and hands-on practicals. We are accepting suggestions and requests for topics of interest, or for recommended guest speakers. More on this to follow.

The biggest and arguably most important responsibility of this society is to establish parameters regarding member accreditation for the clinical practice of intraoperative neurophysiology. This has been a topic that has been frequently explored among professionals, and is not to be introduced as a means for arbitrary administration, but rather, to attempt to standardise clinical practice according to international guidelines that reduce disparity in quality of care. We have explored formal approaches to developing this via the Australian Health Practitioner Registration Agency (or AHPRA), however we have agreed to introduce this pathway unofficially, and hopefully towards the end of the year. This would resemble something of an academic assessment in conjunction with an in-person board examination, and would be offered within the Asia Pacific region, where no comparable accreditation exists.

With regard to strategic partnerships, we are continually in discussion with the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney, part of Australia’s highest-ranking medical school, to formally recognise INSA as a governing body associated with post-graduate programs in professional medical education involving clinical neurophysiology. Similarly, we have initiated conversations with the American Society of Neurophysiological Monitoring (ASNM), and the Intraoperative Society of Intraoperative Neurophysiology (ISIN), so we can ensure that previously established best-practice techniques remain consistent globally.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to again remind members that the current executive council will be stepping down formally in March 2023. This means we are accepting nominations for president, secretary, treasurer and registrar positions, in addition to medical officers of neurosurgery, orthopaedic surgery, education/accreditation and/or anaesthesia. If you know someone interested in contributing to this society, or someone suited to one of these positions, please feel free to submit a nomination via our website, or please contact me for a confidential discussion. This is an opportunity for experienced intraoperative neurophysiology professionals, budding professionals, academics and medical doctors who wish to contribute to the development of a formal scientific society for a two year term. We are also thankful for nominations that have been received thus far.

In closing, and on behalf of the INSA executive council, I would like to thank our members for their continued support. Intraoperative neurophysiology is a very niche subset of clinical neuroscience with an estimated 300 or less practitioners throughout Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. To us, INSA represents an important opportunity to meaningfully contribute to this growing field and discipline. I’m hopeful that with guidance and support from the existing executive council, the next generation of scientific leaders in this field will continue to work towards a viable and rewarding platform for clinical education and accreditation that members will seek and enjoy.

I would now like to invite our Treasurer, Mr Anthony Kyte, to present information pertaining to annual financial audits and records, and then we’re happy to accept questions from the audience.”

To all members,

It has been quite some time since myself and the executive council have communicated with our members, and for that we apologise. Rest assured, we are committed to developing our society to best represent the interests of our profession, however as we are all volunteering in our positions at times it becomes logistically troublesome to coordinate regular activities.

Since our last correspondence, we continue to develop content for our DISCOVERY portal, however, timelines for lecture submission and interviews for profiles have been delayed due to the ever-evolving coronavirus situation and various personal circumstances. Nonetheless we remain dedicated to finalising content from domestic and international contributors, and we would also like to extend the invitation to our constituents. For those interested in discussing their experience in intraoperative neurophysiology, or a particular case study they feel others may benefit from, please feel free to email me and we can arrange a delivery pathway.

Recently, ASNM past-President Dr Rich Vogel mentioned INSA as the Asia-Pacific representative of IONM professionals during part of the North American Spine Society conference. As a small but growing society, we are immensely thankful to Dr Vogel for the recognition, and share his sentiment that there should be inter-societal collaboration. In other representative news, Education and Accreditation Officer Dr Adam Hastings, also recently represented INSA as part of the Asian Oceanian Society of Intraoperative Neurophysiology (AOSIN) annual conference, discussing anaesthesia and IONM. The society was also mentioned by several speakers discussing the status of clinical practice in APAC, and we hope to engage with AOSIN and other societies for continued education in this region.

As I’m sure you’re aware, the continued unpredictability regarding the global pandemic renders discussion of a domestic in-person conference challenging. We are continuing discussions to host an online conference as a substitute, hopefully in partnership with our international counterpart societies. We are open to suggestions regarding content prior to its curation, hopefully with finalisation of our proposed ‘controversies’ session.

We thank you for your continued support, and look forward to providing members with substantive educational content for the remaining half of this year. We will also be accepting nominations for executive council positions later this year; please feel free to get in touch if you would like to discuss your interest in contributing to the continued development of our profession in Australasia.

To all members,

We hope you’ve each had a pleasant start to 2021, and welcome all of our new and renewed members to INSA. If you have not paid your membership fees, these are the final days to do so.

We are thankful for the feedback received thus far regarding our DISCOVERY portal, and have plenty of lecture content lined up for delivery throughout the year. First-up for the year will involve an icon of neurosurgery and intraoperative neurophysiology, discussing their career path and future directions of clinical neuroscience, with lecture material exploring spinal cord tumour surgery and brain mapping. More details to follow.

As the pandemic climate continues to evolve and improve in Australia, we will soon begin discussions as to whether or not we will be able to successfully host a domestic conference or workshops to enable collaboration and the exchange of ideas amongst practitioners of intraoperative neurophysiology. At the least, we are in discussions with our international colleagues to host APAC’s first ‘controversies in intraoperative neurophysiology’ meeting, which will not be a vehicle for scrutiny but one for healthy discussions pertaining to best practice and regulatory standards around the world and how we can best integrate these in the Asia Pacific region. You are encouraged to submit topics of interest for this public forum.

Recently, INSA has been represented at the 2nd Annual Asian Low Grade Glioma Network (ALGGN) satellite meeting, held in Hong Kong. Our very own Ast Prof Kejia Teo, Medical Officer – Neurosurgery, discussed his experiences in establishing an awake craniotomy practice and the importance of multimodal cortical mapping, and encouraged the hundreds of spectators online to contribute to the development of best practice at INSA. Thank you Prof!

We continue to explore partnerships with tertiary hospitals, academic institutions and established international societies to increase visibility of this newly re-launched society, with the overarching goal to publicly integrate a universally-agreed-upon best-practice. We are again thankful for your continued support, and look forward to further developing this platform to share knowledge, experiences and philosophies in healthcare and clinical neurophysiology.

To all members,

Whilst it may have appeared to be quiet on the INSA front, myself and the executive council have been slowly chipping away at the lengthy process of re-establishing this society. In our last update, we mentioned that we were working towards the transitioning of the new name, including the necessary website, contact and banking information, which is complete. The official soft launch of INSA begins now, and on schedule.

We are proud to introduce the Intraoperative Neurophysiology Society of Asia-Pacific: http://ins-apac.com. Here, you will gain access to member- only content via our DISCOVERY portal. It will also enable new members to sign up online, and existing members to automate membership renewal. Our detailed 12-month roadmap is also publicly available.

Over the next few days, all existing members will receive their username and password details for access to curated quarterly content. For our launch, we are enormously thankful to A/Prof Jay Shills for providing a comprehensive lecture pertaining to the modulation of the human nervous system. This content is extremely practical for members interested in spinal cord stimulation and of course, microelectrode recording for deep brain stimulation.

Also available for our launch is a profile focused on the career and philosophy of Professor Hugues Duffau (FR). Professor Duffau is chairman of neurosurgery at Montpellier University Medical Centre in France, and has spent two decades treating lower grade glioma patients assisted with complex brain mapping to gather data and publish research that share a common theme: that the next decade of brain mapping will depend upon neurosurgeons to challenge the tenets regarding brain function.

We have an exciting roster lined up for monthly content delivery for INSA members exploring contemporary neurophysiological techniques, surgical approaches, new technologies, partnered with profiles exploring the careers of scientific, medical and industrial icons who have been extremely generous with their time. We are also in the process of establishing a quarterly ‘Controversies in Intraoperative Neurophysiology’ meeting to discuss standards of care, disparity of technique, clinical research etc. This will likely involve a special guest to moderate a divisive element of clinical practice for discussion, with proactive commentary from experts throughout the Asia Pacific region.

Our executive council continues to meet on a monthly basis, and are committed to providing a platform for you to engage, collaborate and learn with other professionals in the field. This is our first offering, and we are very excited to upload more content as we progress.

We are again thankful for your continued support, and look forward to further developing this platform to share knowledge, experiences and philosophies in healthcare and clinical neurophysiology.

Best,

Ryan P. Hamer,

President, INSA

31st July, 2020

To all members,

In late-May, you received a survey proposing a change of our society’s name from the Australian Association of Intraoperative Monitoring (AAIM) to the Intraoperative Neurophysiology Society of Asia-Pacific (INSA). The results were unanimously in support of the change, which is now in effect. This survey prompted some enthusiastic conversations with members of this small but growing society, affirming my belief that there are many professionals currently active in the clinical neurophysiology field that are committed to making a difference.

Change is a natural by-product of evolution, and in this circumstance, manifested in the renaming of a scientific society.

This does not alter this group’s history, it’s accomplishments, or its goals. It has changed to better represent the interests of our constituents and increase the reach of those engaging in intraoperative neurophysiology, such as those in neuromodulation and epilepsy surgery in addition to those monitoring for spinal surgery, brainstem surgery, vascular surgery and supratentorial tumour surgery.

‘INSA’ represents a new era.

We are now working towards the transitioning of the new name, including the necessary website, contact and banking information. Following this, we will be focused on launching INSA publicly in late-September, along with several announcements pertaining to projects and partnerships.

Our executive council is meeting on a monthly basis, and are committed to providing a platform for you to engage, collaborate and learn with other professionals in the field. We are thankful for your continued support, and look forward to launching this platform built for establishing best- practice as we gravitate towards regulation and accreditation in Asia-Pacific regions.

Discover IONM. Discover INSA.

Best,

Ryan P. Hamer

President, INSA

To the members of AAIM,

It is my great privilege to be the newly elected President of this society. I wish to extend my thanks to Mr Anthony Kyte and previous members of the AAIM executive council for their contributions in establishing the foundations from which we are determined to grow.

Our brand-new executive council is diverse and passionate; together we are driven towards establishing a meaningful portal for education and networking for professionals involved in intraoperative neurophysiology.

The central guiding principle of my tenure as President will be centred around ‘discovery’. Of particular relevance to these concepts is a quote from Nobel laureate Albert Szent-Gyorgyi;

“Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different”.

Whilst there are numerous goals of the society, it is my personal mission to institute the following with our executive council, and with the support of our members;

1. Distinguish the society as a viable and an independent source of education, information and networking for professionals involved in intraoperative neurophysiology.

2. Increase the exposure for neuroscientists, medical practitioners and healthcare professionals in APAC to discover principles and practice of intraoperative neurophysiology.

3. Encourage those actively engaged in intraoperative neurophysiology in APAC to work towards peer-reviewed publication and encourage collaborative partnerships between institutions.

4. To explore the translational skills of neurophysiologists as it relates to brain computer interfaces and neuromodulation technologies, which are developed as part of multidisciplinary teams.

With regards to intraoperative neurophysiology, discovery is now more pertinent than ever. With (probably) less than 200 healthcare professionals involved in IONM in Australia, there is a significant opportunity for the development of a scientific society that is built upon the sharing of knowledge and experience devoid of industry influences to establish best practice techniques that improve patient outcomes.

• AAIM will be opportunist. As clinical research and development gravitates towards the refinement of neurophysiological techniques for clinical and therapeutic use, neurophysiologists and other healthcare professionals engaged in intraoperative neurophysiology are more relevant and industrious than ever before.

• AAIM will be proactive. We must recognise the experience of individuals and groups throughout Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States, to tailor their learnings towards unified practices in public and private healthcare systems in Asia Pacific regions.

• AAIM will be transparent. We will establish best-practice standards and guidelines without bias and without influence of industry.

I hope everyone is staying safe and well during these difficult times, and I look forward to engaging with each of you as we work towards high- quality education and networking opportunities for all members. Exciting projects are under development. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or inquiries.

Best,

Ryan P. Hamer

President, INSA