IDEAL

Welcome to the IDEAL network, a resource centre for improving the evaluation of interventional therapies.

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Ideal

Conventional medical research methods, such as randomised trials, have proved challenging to apply to fields such as surgery, physiotherapy, and interventional radiology, where the intervention is complex and operator dependent. As a result, the evidence supporting current practice in many of these disciplines is poorer than it ought to be. This site is for those interested in improving the scientific evaluation of interventional therapies.

 

Aims 

The aims of the IDEAL network are:

  • To publicise the current state of knowledge about how interventional therapy can best be studied and how studies can best be reported.  
  • To encourage co-operation and further research on developing better study methods for interventional therapies specifically suited to the type and stage of innovation.
  • Eliminating barriers to good evaluation through advocacy and engagement with key players who are able to change the environment for scientific study of interventional therapies.

Background

The IDEAL network grew out of an earlier group known as the Balliol collaboration, a collection of methodologists and clinicians who held a series of conferences at Balliol College Oxford in 2007-2009.  Their discussions led to the development of a new FRAMEWORK for describing the stages of development of surgical and interventional innovations, and a series of RECOMMENDATIONS about how methodology and reporting of research at each of these stages could be improved.  The group also made a series of PROPOSALS about how specific sectors (research publishers, funders and regulators, and professional organisations) could help to change the environment for this kind of research in a helpful way.

 

 Agenda

The IDEAL framework and proposals imply support for the following, which IDEAL promotes.

  • The development of new innovative study designs for early phase innovation in interventional therapy.
  • A comprehensive International agreement on best practice in conducting and reporting clinical case series
  • The development of open access online resources for registration of ‘first in man’ studies
  • The development of specific trial centres with expertise and interest in the evaluation of model study designs for pre-RCT studies, and expertise in running modified RCT’s for interventional therapy. 

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