SMS Jaipur and Terumo India put bifurcation PCI training at the center of cardiology education
The Department of Cardiology at Sawai Man Singh Medical College in Jaipur is preparing to host MASTR KAIZEN, a one-day national training programme designed for young cardiologists and other medical professionals. Scheduled at the Institute of Cardiovascular Science, SMS Hospital, the programme is built around one of the most technically demanding areas in interventional cardiology: bifurcation percutaneous coronary intervention.
The format is deliberate. Complex coronary intervention is not learned well through lectures alone, because wire choice, stent positioning, branch protection and post-deployment optimization all depend on judgment made in real time. Simulation gives trainees a setting where mistakes become instruction rather than patient harm. For a procedure in which a millimeter can determine whether a side branch remains patent or becomes compromised, that margin matters at the bedside.
Why bifurcation PCI demands a different level of procedural discipline
Bifurcation lesions involve disease at the point where a coronary artery divides into two branches. Treating those lesions can be more difficult than handling a straight vessel because operators must preserve blood flow to both branches while also ensuring adequate stent expansion and apposition. The procedure requires careful anatomical assessment, an understanding of lesion geometry, and a clear plan before the first device reaches the vessel.
MASTR KAIZEN is organized around that reality. Academic sessions will cover the fundamentals of bifurcation lesions, imaging and lesion assessment, and the major bifurcation strategies and techniques used in practice. Faculty-led discussions will then move from anatomy to decision-making, with attention to treatment planning, strategy selection, procedural optimization and complication prevention. The structure reflects a central truth of interventional cardiology: technical success depends as much on preparation as on dexterity.
Hands-on training will form the practical core of the programme. Participants will rotate through three simulation stations, each designed to strengthen familiarity with procedural technique under guided faculty supervision. A controlled environment with hi-fidelity models allows operators to rehearse sequence, device handling and bailout logic before they encounter a challenging case in the catheterization laboratory. In this setting, the training is not abstract education; it is rehearsal for the kinds of decisions that can influence myocardial perfusion and procedural safety.
Competency-based learning is moving from concept to routine
Competency-based medical education depends on more than attendance and exposure. It demands demonstrable skill, repetition and feedback. That is especially important in interventional cardiology, where procedural complexity is increasing and the threshold for safe independent practice remains high. A young cardiologist who has seen a bifurcation technique on a screen is not yet ready to execute it in a live case. Simulation narrows that gap by allowing repeated practice with expert correction.
The programme also reflects the growing role of academic-industry collaboration in cardiovascular education. Terumo India Skill Lab has operated since 2018 and is described as a safe, controlled training environment that supports over 1,500 healthcare professionals annually. Its equipment includes a fully functional cath lab and hi-fidelity models intended to reproduce a realistic procedural workflow. Those resources make it possible to teach the mechanics of complex coronary intervention without exposing patients to the learning curve.
For trainees, the value lies in translating theory into procedural instinct. Stent selection, lesion crossing, proximal optimization and management of side-branch compromise are not simply academic topics; they are decisions that shape restenosis risk, vessel patency and the likelihood of procedural complications. The educational goal is to create a clinician who can think several steps ahead while working under pressure.
Faculty leadership anchors the Jaipur programme
The programme will feature senior cardiology faculty from Jaipur and Chandigarh. Dr Deepak Maheshwari, Senior Professor and Unit Head, Department of Cardiology, Principal and Controller, SMS Medical College, will serve as chief guest. Dr C.B. Meena, Senior Professor and Unit Head, Head of the Department of Cardiology, SMS Medical College and Hospital, will act as moderator.
The faculty roster includes Dr Rajeev Bagarhatta, Senior Professor and Unit Head, Department of Cardiology, SMS Medical College and Hospital; Dr Sohan Kumar Sharma, Professor, Department of Cardiology, SMS Medical College; and Dr Dinkar Bhasin, Associate Professor, Department of Cardiology, PGIMER, Chandigarh. Their participation gives the programme a mix of institutional experience and broader academic perspective, which is useful in a field where technique evolves through shared discussion as much as through individual trial.
The comments from the speakers align on one point: continued learning is essential in cardiovascular care. Dr Maheshwari emphasized the need to bridge theoretical knowledge and clinical application. Dr Meena framed the collaboration as an opportunity to strengthen clinical capabilities and support knowledge exchange among healthcare professionals. Dr Anudeep Sandhu, Director of Medical Affairs and Clinical Affairs at Terumo India, described the skill lab as a way to make advanced PCI learning more accessible and relevant to the realities of Indian practice.
Training before the catheterization lab is a patient-safety strategy
Advanced coronary intervention often leaves little room for improvisation. In bifurcation PCI, an incomplete plan can lead to side-branch loss, suboptimal stent expansion or the need for unplanned rescue maneuvers. Those are not just technical inconveniences. They can translate into longer procedures, more contrast exposure, greater radiation time and higher procedural risk.
A simulation-heavy curriculum addresses those hazards upstream. By giving trainees a chance to rehearse the sequence of steps, it can sharpen situational awareness and reduce avoidable errors when the procedure is performed on a patient. That is the practical consequence of the Jaipur programme: not prestige, but safer execution of a difficult intervention.
The broader message is clear in the structure of the event itself. Cardiovascular care increasingly depends on operators who can combine anatomical reasoning, device knowledge and procedural discipline. A one-day masterclass cannot replace years of supervised practice, but it can tighten the link between teaching and bedside performance. In a subspecialty defined by precision, that linkage is not optional.
What remains unresolved is how widely such training models can be scaled across institutions with different resource levels. The programme demonstrates what is possible when an academic center and a device training platform align around advanced procedural education. It does not answer how many similar opportunities are available to young cardiologists outside major centers, or how consistently simulation access can be maintained over time.