UniversitätSpital Zürich, University of Zurich and Cardiocentro Ticino have signed an important collaboration project in the field of Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery, turning Cardiocentro into an “associated institute” of the University of Zurich.
“Together we’re stronger” affirmed Prof. Dr Thomas F. Lüscher, Director of the Cardiology ward at the University Hospital of Zurich, commenting the agreement signed with Cardiocentro Ticino that fosters intense collaboration in the fields of education, research and experimentation of new cutting-edge therapies. A conviction shared by Prof. Dr Klaus Grätz, the dean of the faculty of Medicine of the University of Zurich, who sees, in this cooperative project, new opportunities for teaching and university research, as well as for strengthening academic relations between the Zurich University and the Ticino Canton. Thanks to the agreement signed, Cardiocentro Ticino will officially become an “associated institute” of the University of Zurich, thus acquiring the status of university hospital and becoming the first institute in the Ticino Canton to be officially part of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Zurich. “This paves the way for new financing opportunities for us, enabling us to give new impulse to research and education projects in which we have been involved for a number of years” commented Prof. Dr Tiziano Moccetti, the Medical Director of Cardiocentro Ticino.
As was agreed, graduate physicians specialising in Cardiology from Universitätspital will be able to accrue one year of experience, on an exchange basis, at Cardiocentro Ticino, while future specialists already studying and working at Cardiocentro Ticino will be able to complete their training at the University of Zurich. Moreover, cutting-edge medical collaboration will be intensified, both in the cardiology and cardiac surgery areas. In concrete terms, patients suffering from congenital defects, heart failure or waiting for a heart transplant can now be transferred between the two centres after a joint medical evaluation. Moreover, joint research activities will be expanded in the domain of new stem cell therapies, where Cardiocentro Ticino – the only centre in Switzerland equipped with the necessary infrastructures and certifications for the preparation of stem cells destined to the cardiovascular system – will be providing treatment, and pass on data to the Universitätspital that will ensure a systematic collection of surgery data. A further joint study has been also planned for the treatment of myocardial infarction with new anti-inflammatory drugs. In addition, new therapies will be devised for arrhythmias and heart failure using, for example, next-generation three-chamber defibrillators.
The benefits of this co-operation are evident to all the partners: “by networking, we can enrol more patients in our studies” affirmed Prof. Lüscher – not a negligible detail, when it comes to research. As Prof. Moccetti indeed remarked, “gathering more data on new medical procedures will enable us to improve their quality”. From the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Zurich, Prof. Grätz commented that “this new cooperative project paves the way for future new academic collaboration with the Ticino Canton in the domain of medical education”.
