About IRCAD
1994 - Creation of IRCAD 1
From the industrial production to the digital era in the early 90s, the world of surgery was preparing for an inevitable change. It was in this context that Professor Jacques Marescaux had the idea of creating a unique research and training institute. In 1994, the IRCAD opened its doors within the University Hospital of Strasbourg.
2000 - Creation of WebSurg
WebSurg, an e-learning minimally invasive surgery website, designed by surgeons and aimed at the surgical community, was created in 2000. It quickly became the world reference in distance learning in the field of minimally invasive surgery, with more than 430,000 members worldwide.
2001 - Operation Lindbergh
On September 7, 2001, Professor Jacques Marescaux and his team performed Operation Lindbergh. The operation was performed from New York on a patient in Strasbourg, thanks to a partnership with France Telecom, who provided the high-speed link for the operation. This world first revolutionized surgery, proving that distance was no longer an obstacle.
2007 - NOTES surgery
In April 2007, the development of concepts and instruments allowed the IRCAD team to perform the first transluminal endoscopic surgery through natural orifices (NOTES surgery), a world first representing a considerable advance in the world of surgery.
2008 - IRCAD Taiwan
The international success of IRCAD was the impetus for the construction of a sister institute in Taïwan in 2008, under the direction of Mr. H. Huang, President of Show Chwan Memorial Hospital. The real need for such a training network in Asia led to the creation of this mirror institute, modeled on the IRCAD in Strasbourg.
2011 - IRCAD America Latina (São Paulo)
IRCAD then settled on the South American continent, and specifically in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The IRCAD America Latina Institute stems from a partnership between Henrique Prata and the Barretos Cancer Hospital (BCH).
2011 - Creation of Les Haras Hotel****
The same year, the IRCAD decides to renovate the former Strasbourg-based National Stud farm, a listed historic building, in order to accommodate a Brasserie run by the 3-Michelin-Star Chef Marc Haeberlin, a 4-star hotel, and a biocluster.
2014 - IRCAD extension
In 2014, after seeing its training activity in minimally invasive surgery increase every year, IRCAD decided to open a second teaching and experimental surgery platform in a new 2500 sqm building, IRCAD 2, adjoining the original building. The Institute houses two global giants of the surgical industry, Medtronic and Intuitive Surgical, on the 4 levels of the building.
2016 - Inauguration of IHU Strasbourg
The Strasbourg Institute for Image-Guided Surgery opened its doors to patients in October 2016. It has nine hybrid operating rooms for patients as well as five auditoriums exclusively for teaching and research. The building is attached to IRCAD for the research and experimental part and to the “Nouvel Hôpital Civil” of Strasbourg for patient care.
2017 - IRCAD America Latina (Rio de Janeiro)
A third mirror Institute was created in June 2017 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, thanks to a partnership with the health insurance company United Health and its former CEO Edson de Godoy Bueno.
2019 - IRCAD Lebanon
This Institute, inaugurated on July 20, 2019 in the Levant Clinic in Beirut, is IRCAD’s fourth international branch. With its 100-seat auditorium, it aims to welcome surgeons from all over the Middle East wishing to learn about the latest minimally invasive surgical techniques.
2020 - Development of online courses
The global health crisis related to COVID-19 has led IRCAD to diversify its training offer for surgeons unable to travel to the Institute. This has been possible thanks to the organization of online courses, free or paid, in many surgical specialties.
2021 - Extension of Les Haras Hotel****
With 155 additional rooms and plenty of other services, Les Haras Hotel**** was extended at the beginning of 2021, reflecting its success and its privileged position in the heart of the city of Strasbourg.
2021 - Inauguration of IRCAD 3
IRCAD 3 is a new building totally dedicated to surgical robotics, with a 237-seat auditorium fully equipped with cutting-edge technologies, and two operating rooms for our industrial partners: Medtronic, a historical partner of the Institute for more than 28 years, and CMR Surgical, a new partner of IRCAD. As a result, in addition to the current Intuitive Surgical platform, IRCAD now has the largest robotics platform in the world.
IRCAD 3 is co-financed by the European Union with the European Regional Development Fund.
2022 - New projects in the pipeline
As the French ambassador of excellence and innovation, the IRCAD Institute is constantly spurring new projects year after year, notably with the creation of 3 new mirror Institutes: one in Africa in 2022, one in China in 2023, and one in the United States in 2024. In total, the IRCAD brings together a network of 8 Institutes worldwide.
Many projects are being held at IRCAD, and we invite you to follow their progress via our social networks, our press articles, or our newsletters.
