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Greetings from Anchorage

It’s Day 1 of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) Annual Scientific Meeting. More than 300 hair restoration surgeons and their clinical assistants from around the world have come to Alaska for four days of discussion, education and exploration.  This is the 19^th such session, and—having been involved in the majority—I can confirm the gathering has never been more global nor more technological in nature.

My time today was spent with co-chair Glenn M. Charles, DO, and several other colleagues, helping prepare our fellow practitioners for the certification/re-certification exams of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery. The written and oral exams are rigorous, critical to assuring the quality that drives great patient outcomes. So along with case scenarios to help participants focus their real-time responses, we reviewed the etiologies of hair loss, anatomy and histology of scalp and hair, medical treatments, donor and recipient area management, cell and gene therapy, anesthesia, and emergency interventions.

Great to be working with such high-caliber candidates.

Seeing ARTAS in action

Thanks to our web wizard Erik Oberhausen (www.upperhouse.us), we’re now able to share some close-ups of the ARTAS robotic-assisted hair restoration system in action via YouTube. It was early last month that HSC became the first practice internationally to secure this first-of-its-kind technology.

There are seven clips in this initial series, showing the unit calculating optimal targets, the video monitors guiding selection, patient experience and more. Do visit http://www.youtube.com/user/hairrestorationrobot#p/u if you’re curious, either from a practitioner’s perspective or as a potential recipient. If you’re among the latter, please keep in mind that, while the images are not excessively graphic, this is a surgical procedure.

FUE-TV

FUE-TV?

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/health/28881883/detail.html

No, it’s not the latest new channel on your cable line-up, just an invitation to see how Denver’s own KMGH-Channel 7 news team captured the recent global launch of the ARTAS™ hair restoration system at our HSC offices.

Having the rest of the development team from Restoration Robotics (www.restorationrobotics.com) here in the Mile High City for the debut made for a great week.

You can learn more about the advantages of the ARTAS system herehttp://www.hsccolorado.com/ArtasSystem.aspx Between the precision afforded by the algorithms and the follicular-sparing benefits of our own SAFE Scribe instrumentation, it definitely provides patients and physicians a new option for optimal results.

New Vistas

Looking forward to being part of FUE faculty for the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery’s annual session in Anchorage this September 14-18.  This is the 19^th year the ISHRS has convened to further the science and art of hair restoration, and the 2011 agenda is extraordinarily strong. HSC Development will have a presence in the exhibit hall, as well.  Do plan to stop by booth #29 if you’re interested in taking the powered SAFE Scribe for a “test drive.”

Happy Dance

Positive feedback is always nice.

But when a colleague’s comment makes you laugh out loud, it’s worth sharing.

Just received this note from a fellow hair restoration physician who recently made our powered SAFE Scribe system part of his practice.  He wrote:

“Used the SAFE powered punch for the first time on Monday. I did it for extraction of hairline zone grafts.  Jim, I was blown away by how easy and well it worked. I did a little dance in the OR!”

The mental image of his dancing made my day.  So did knowing that his comfort level with those all-important hairline zone grafts had risen significantly the first time out. For all of us committed to superior FUE outcomes, that confidence translates directly to patient satisfaction.

Here’s to more dancing in the O.R.

Picturing Possibilities

August is proving an amazing month here at Hair Sciences Center of Colorado.

A few days ago, we hosted the global debut of the ARTAS™ System, the first physician-controlled, robotic-assisted hair restoration system to speed follicular harvest for FUE. Cleared by the FDA in April 2011, the technology has been vetted thoroughly with extensive clinical studies conducted here in Colorado and in California.

You’ll find a more detailed explanation here on the HSC site, but this is the “quick-read” story:

ARTAS uses sophisticated algorithms to identify each follicular unit on the surface of the scalp by individual hair properties, such as angle, orientation, direction, density and distribution. It then targets

the exact location of each follicular unit, targeting it for harvesting at the optimal approach. At that point, a robotic arm precisely harvests each follicular unit—and much faster than most physicians can perform the same unit extraction.

Because these are high-quality grafts, they contribute to a higher growth rate when implanted. Moreover, ARTAS target follicular units in a random pattern to ensure the donor areas retain their natural appearance

Having been part of the team creating ARTAS, I was delighted to welcome the developer, Restoration Robotics (restorationrobotics.com) to Denver for the launch.   This system integrates our patented SAFE™ system technology in the extraction process—which is a key factor in the consistent achievement of transaction rates significantly below the 10 percent threshold some specialists consider acceptable. The other FUE benefits are constants: the minimally invasive procedure, no linear scarring and a more rapid return to normal activity.

Do check out the ARTAS page on this site for more information.  If you have a specific question, you’ll find an “Ask Dr. Harris” that will allow me to answer you directly.

FUECON Update

There is no easy way to reach Chandigarh, India, from Denver, Colorado.

But my recent journey there for the inaugural FUECON seminar was worth every minute of the 16-hour flight.  FUECON 2011—a two-day course on follicular unit extraction (FUE)—was sponsored by Meditech, Inc., and hosted by my colleague Dr. Tejinder Bhatti.

I wasn’t alone in logging several thousand miles to take part. It was Dr. Bhatti’s and my pleasure to welcome some 50 delegates from South Africa, Mauritius and Brazil, as well as points throughout India, to these continuing education sessions on FUE advances. An extensive didactic presentation on leading rapid-harvest techniques was complemented by a procedural workshop where attendees could see the SAFE System in action.

Post-session feedback from participants—and I’m still receiving emails nearly a month later—was highly positive. For presenters, that’s always most satisfying.

But what impressed me deeply was the level of commitment to superior patient satisfaction evident during our seminar and social discussions. I take great pride in being part of an international community of this caliber.

The success of this first FUECON event has an encore already on the calendar:  May 12-13, 2012.