Here are eight key developments from Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic in the past year, focused on its orthopedic, spine and neurosurgery services.
1. The Mayo Clinic revealed plans to build a $233 million oncology facility on its Jacksonville, Fla., campus which will feature proton beam therapy, which is used for tumors of the spine, brain and neck among others. The treatment was introduced at Mayo's Rochester, Minn.-based campus in 2015 and Phoenix campus in 2016.
2. Mayo Clinic researchers in Jacksonville, Fla., examined the key trends in spine 3D printing of model spines for simulation training. They created a vertebral simulator using multiple material printing to generate a spine model that best simulates the interoperative in vivotactile feedback of the cortico-cancellous interface, which has significant implications for the spinal instrumentation industry and resident training.
3. Mayo Clinic expanded services its Mankato, Minn.-based facility by hiring two neurosurgeons to accommodate demand and deliver more convenient care for Mankato-based patients.
4. In October 2018, The Louis V. Gerstner Jr. Fund at Vanguard Charitable gave Mayo Clinic a $10 million grant to support five initiatives across its Arizona, Florida and Minnesota sites. Regenerative medicine in spine pain is among the research initiatives the grant is funding.
5. In an interview with Becker's, assistant professor of neurosurgery at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., Selby Chen, MD, discussed the current challenges in spinal medicine and offered advice for physicians considering a career in spine.
6. Mayo Clinic and U.S. Youth Soccer partnered to launch a data collection program for brain injuries called The Athlete Incident Management System. AIMS was developed by Scottsdale-based Mayo Clinic Arizona's sports neurology and concussion program co-director Jennifer Wethe, PhD.
7. Orthopedic surgeon at Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic Shawn O'Driscoll, MD, designed a new system for assessing patient-reported outcomes. The system requires the patient, physicians and a medical staff member to complete a form with a more in-depth category rating for the patient's outcome compared to pre-surgery.
8. A Mayo Clinic study cited by Medscape examining spine surgery reimbursement presented at the 2019 American Association of Neurological Surgeons Annual Scientific Meeting found that despite a decrease in Medicare reimbursement, legislation may help in the long run.