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While Emeritus Professor Charles Strother, M.D., is no stranger to written publishing, he has a little less experience in front of a camera. However, when Siemens expressed their interest in producing a documentary focusing on his long and fruitful research career, Dr. Strother accepted the opportunity.
Dr. Strother was a pioneer in the field of neuroradiology, contributing to notable advances such as digital subtraction angiography, developed in conjunction with UW Professor Charles Mistretta, Ph.D.
Although Dr. Strother stopped seeing patients over a year and a half ago, he has been far from idle. After helping UW reach a long term agreement for research in interventional radiology with Siemens, Dr. Strother has been focusing on “developing advanced imaging techniques that allow physicians to see better when performing minimally invasive procedures, and development of devices suitable for revascularization.”
Dr. Strother’s close advisory relationship with Siemens has allowed him input into the development of several angiography devices over the course of the partnership, chiefly in the form of high-level instruction about what capabilities a device needs at the clinical level. “None of us really have engineering expertise, or software expertise, so we can’t design products ourselves. But at every stage of the product, we are looking at it, and saying change this, change that. . .it’s an interactive, iterative type of relationship,” said Dr. Strother.
The documentary is a part of Siemens’ “Heroes” series of short films, which highlights innovators in the fields of medicine and science. Filming took place in mid-June, and was handled by hl-studios, a production company based in Erlangen, Germany. Shooting locations included the Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research (WIMR), the UW Hospital angiography suite, and the neuroradiology reading room. Some scenes were filmed with Dr. Strother gazing at Lake Mendota from a pier, although he playfully ribbed those shots as “a little cheesy.” A multi-camera setup was used for the majority of the filming, and for some shots a panning effect was achieved through use of a track on which the camera could travel.
The production crew expects to complete editing in two to three weeks, while the official release from Siemens has yet to receive a date. To learn more about Dr. Strother’s accomplishments, visit his profile at UW Radiology.