ICVTS goes interdisciplinary

This forward thinking new ICVTS will encourage collaboration across multidisciplinary teams in cardiac, thoracic and vascular surgery, by focusing on highly innovative, interdisciplinary research that directly impacts surgical practice within the field. This in turn will help deliver better outcomes for patients.

Advances in healthcare are now driven by interdisciplinary research that covers medical, biomedical, physical, engineering and computer sciences and beyond so it’s important this approach is echoed by EACTS Journals.

Peyman Sardari Nia, Editor in Chief of ICVTS, said: “The Journal aims to bring all those involved in cardiovascular and thoracic research together, focusing on treatment of a disease condition rather than accepting the status quo of researchers conducting research and publishing in different silos on the same pathology”.

Supporting a multi-disciplinary approach

The fundamental reasons behind the name change and relaunch are to acknowledge the fact that patients are increasingly supported by multidisciplinary teams, from surgeons and nurses to anaesthetists and perfusionists, who all work together to address the vital needs and long-term health management of individuals.

Ludwig K. von Segesser, Founding Editor of ICVTS, says: ‘This is a good move because this is how the discipline is evolving – from a single specialty to a multi-disciplinary approach for our patients. People have to work together to bring in their expertise from different views and from different fields. I think that is going to be the future’.

ICVTS has been steadily and successfully evolving since 2002 (as Interactive CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery) and converted to open access in August 2021.

The new interdisciplinary format will not only strengthen its position within the surgical community, but, crucially, will also highlight research by related disciplines that impact cardiothoracic surgery, which previously may not have been visible to the relevant surgical community.

From 2023, the new journal will focus on the treatment of a disease condition and mirror the changing surgical landscape. Ash Merrifield, EACTS Publications Director, stresses: “It is an important part of my role to ensure that our publications are truly set up for the future and are able to adapt to changes within the surgical community, but also within the publishing community."