JET2020 GREETINGS

As president of JET, it will be a great pleasure and honor for me, Osamu Iida of Kansai Rosai Hospital in Amagasaki, to chair the Japan Endovascular Treatment Conference of 2020 (JET2020) which will be held from February 21st to 23rd in Osaka. First, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the participants of last year’s JET2019 in Tokyo chaired by Dr. Kazushi Urasawa of Tokeidai Memorial Hospital for their strong support and contributions in making the meeting a great success.

The upcoming JET2020 will be the 12th JET conference and I feel especially honored to serve as Chair in the same year as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Within the past 20 years, the JET conferences have grown into the largest such meetings, originally starting as the Japan Peripheral Intervention Conferences (JPIC) established by Dr. Yoshiaki Yokoi as a forum to discuss endovascular treatments (EVT) for vascular diseases. These past 5 years, various long-awaited new devices have been approved in Japan after passing rigorous clinical trials. Thus, we are now able to hold discussions on equal footing with the key opinion leaders (KOL) and specialists from abroad.

In order to address the Achille’s heel of EVT, which is the long-term patency of superficial femoral artery (SFA) stenosis, new devices such as drug eluting balloons, drug-coated stents and covered stent grafts have shown higher patency compared to existing therapies and are now the main tools for SFA intervention. However, an increase in treatment options also puts a heavy responsibility on the interventionists. Wide knowledge, adequate experience, and the ability to make appropriate judgements on adaptability, selection and implementation are necessary, and I feel that such training is, indeed, the most important role of the JET meetings. On the other hand, there are many physicians still performing EVT without the option of using such new devices due to restrictions in facility standards. We must recognize these regional differences and work through JET to address these limitations.

JET has mainly been led by cardiovascular specialists in peripheral vessels, particularly focusing on the lower limb area. These 20 years have seen remarkable growth in JET membership and participation as well as the introduction of new devices. However, new challenges in the field of EVT is necessary to further promote JET growth and I feel 2020 will be the breakthrough year. To address such issues as: 1) peripheral artery disease (PAD); 2) aortic diseases; 3) venous diseases; and 4) arteriovenous (AV) access, we are planning to implement new challenges with the following programs: 1) Live Course Sessions; 2) Educational Tutorial Sessions; and 3) Clinical Trial Sessions.

Fortunately, advanced knowledge and skills in vascular interventional techniques, strong educational and training systems, and thorough clinical research in the field of Japanese EVT have become globally recognized. I feel that our goal for next-generation JET meetings is to prepare programs in which all participants can, over the course of the meeting, gain a basic understanding of vascular diseases as well as acquire more knowledge and skills in the most advanced treatment strategies available.

Within these past 5 years, JET has garnered much attention and participation not only domestically but also from various Asian countries so that we can expect JET to play an important role in the development of EVT throughout Asia. An increasing number of specialists have also been participating from North America and Europe so that we are able to learn more about their clinical experiences including the pitfalls inherent in the new devices. At the same time, we can also teach advanced “Japanese-style EVT” methods pioneered by taking into consideration the specific characteristics of Japanese cases. Such cross-cultural exchanges will be crucial in discovering ways to further develop and improve next-generation treatments.

Through discussions and collaborations with specialists from around the world, the most suitable and optimal treatments including EVT should always be considered. Thus, 2020 is expected to be a year in which cardiovascular specialists, vascular surgeons, radiologists, reconstructive surgeons, and cerebrovascular surgeons collaborate closely to envision the most effective treatment strategies for vascular diseases. Such teamwork will be essential not only among physicians but all caregivers in the EVT process including nursing staff, radiological technicians, clinical engineers and medical clerks. There will also be the need to hold discussions with the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) and government administrators on addressing any problems with present EVT procedures or devices. All of these efforts will surely contribute to ensuring the beneficial expansion and advancement of EVT technologies throughout Japan.

The JET conferences have greatly expanded through its instructive live demonstrations. However, JET2020 aims to provide even more innovative, cutting-edge live demonstrations. There will also be debates, round table discussions, presentations of clinical studies from Japan, a Presentation Award ceremony for young physicians, educational tutorial programs, hands-on sessions and many other programs only possible at the JET meetings. Wide-ranging discussions will strongly emphasize not only procedural success but also improvement of long-term prognosis.

Our greatest objective is for the JET meetings to become the largest scale international endovascular course in Asia. This means that the JET programs should take a leading role in spreading the proper instruction of vascular diseases and their treatment throughout the world. It will be necessary for JET never to fall into self-complacency and always make the effort to disseminate the most up-to-date evidence and experience-based information and developments in the treatment of vascular diseases. And from the viewpoint of health economics, JET can also lead the way in establishing effective yet cost-efficient treatment methods.

JET2020 will be held at the Knowledge Capital Congrés conference center of the Grand Front Osaka multi-purpose business and shopping complex in Umeda near Osaka Station where our JET2015 and 2018 were also held. It is an excellent site with smooth access from the various airports and good traffic flow to the main stations. With original and exciting programs and events, we hope to provide a completely new experience which will surely surprise all of the participants. I look forward to welcoming you all to JET2020 in Osaka next February 21st – 23rd.

JET2020 Chairman of the executive committee Osamu Iida, MD Cardiovascular Center, Kansai Rosai Hospital