PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS
2005 has been a busy year in the European Society for Engineering and Medicine. Elsewhere in this issue of ESEM News you will read reports on our activities in Groningen, Regensburg and Dublin. Still to come is EMBEC 05, the European Medical & Biological Engineering Conference, in Prague from 20th to 25th November. EMBEC 05 includes an ESEM Symposium on Tissue Engineering for Orthopaedic Applications: www.embec05.org. Papers from this symposium will be published in a Special Issue of our journal Technology and Health Care. An ESEM Prize will be awarded for the best conference paper presented in the area of Cellular, Molecular and Tissue Engineering. There will also be an ESEM Council meeting in Prague at which we will discuss our programme for 2006. This already includes the 4th ESEM International Symposium on Microdamage in Bone at the World Congress of Biomechanics in Munich, running from 29th July – 4th August (www.wcb2006.org), participation in the Canadian Medical and Biological Engineering Society Meeting (www.cmbes.ca) and the ESAO Conference (www.esao.org). We will also be discussing plans for a book aimed at bridging the gap between engineering and medicine. We hope to use this as the basis for a series of symposia Engineering Principles to Medical Practice to be held at medical meetings to foster interaction between the two professions in teaching, research and clinic practice. Prague promises to be a memorable meeting and I look forward to reporting back to you in our next issue of ESEM News. Please keep in touch with your Society via this website, ESEM News and by emailing Members of Council with your suggestions and comments. Best wishes, Clive Lee,
President ESEM Membership 2005 The membership of ESEM is equally divided between medical doctors and engineers. This makes ESEM unique amongst societies which deal with health care technology. As a benefit of membership of ESEM a subscription to Technology and Health Care (IOS Press) is included in the annual membership fee. Active members: €60
Active members receive the Society's Newsletter and Journal free of charge, benefit from reduced conference rates and may participate in the Society's meetings and General Assembly. Student members: €20
Pre-doctoral students at degree-granting institutions are eligible to apply for student membership. Upon the award of a Ph.D. or equivalent degree, student membership shall be converted to active membership Associate members (non-profit organisation): €180
Any national or international society related to engineering and medicine, any companyproducing or commercialising equipment for health services or biological, scientific and medical research, and any organisation concerned with health problems may apply for associate membership. Associate membership have similar rights and privileges to other categories and also benefit from reduced fees for space in ESEM conference exhibitions. Associate members (profit organisation): €360
Any national or international society related to engineering and medicine, any company producing or commercialising equipment for health services or biological, scientific and medical research, and any organisation concerned with health problems may apply for associate membership. Associate membership have similar rights and privileges to other categories and also benefit from reduced fees for space in ESEM conference exhibitions. Please contact the ESEM Secretary General, Bart Verkerke for membership related queries including renewal of membership and payment of fees. A membership application form can be downloaded from our website. ESEM Council Meeting and General Assembly The next Council meeting will take place on Tuesday, November 22nd in Prague, Czech Republic preceeding European Medical & Biological Engineering Conference. The meeting be held in Meeting Room II at 11am at the conference venue. An agenda is attached at the bottom of this Newsletter Council Members The Council of ESEM consists of the following members: Executive Board Clive Lee, President
Department of Anatomy,
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland,
St . Stephen's Green
Dublin 2, Ireland Pascal Verdonck, Treasurer
Hydraulics Laboratory,
University of Ghent, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 41, 9000 GENT
Belgium Bart Verkerke, Secretary General
Faculty of Medical Sciences,
Department of BioMedical Engineering
University of Groningen, Ant. Deusinglaan 1
9713 AV Groningen, The Netherlands Board of Directors Paolo Dario
Scuola Superiore Sant' Anna,
ARTS/MITECH Labs
Via G. Carducci, 40
56100 PISA, Italy Nagy Habib,
Dept. of Surgery, Hammersmith Hospital
Du Cane Road, LONDON W120NN
United Kingdom
Hans-Joachim Hein
Klinik und Poliklinik fur Ortopadie,
AG Biomechanik & Strukturforschung
Str. d. OdF 4, 06097 HALLE
Germany Jacques Jossinet
INSERM Unité 556
151 Cours Albert Thomas
69424 LYON CEDEX 03, France
Roman Maniewski
Inst. of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering,
Polish Academy of Sciences
4 Trojdena St. 02-109
Warsaw, Poland Paul McCullagh
School of Computing and Mathematics
University of Ulster, Jordanstown
Shore Road, Newtownabbey
Co. Antrim, BT37 0QB
United Kingdom Norbert Nessler,
Angewandte Physik/Elektronik,
Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25
6020 Innsbruck
Austria Peter Niederer,
Co-Editor-in-Chief, Technology and Healthcare
Institut für Biomedizinische Technik und Medizinische Informatik Universität und ETH Zürich, Gloriastrasse 35, 8092 Zürich
Switzerland Fergal O'Brien, Newsletter and Website Editor
Department of Anatomy,
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2
Ireland Fons Sauren,
Eindhoven University of Technology, Faculty Biomedical Engineering,
W-hoog 1.127, P.O.Box 513
5600 MB EINDHOVEN
The Netherlands ESEM on the Web The ESEM website has recently undergone a significant reconstruction. I hope our members find the new website satisfactory and easy to use. I will be delighted to hear any comments or suggestions on the new website. The new site was developed by Acore Software Solutions. Recent and Upcoming Meetings with ESEM Affiliation 10th International Congress on Surgical and Prosthetic Rehabilitation after Laryngectomy
6th International EGFL Workshop, Groningen, The Netherlands, April 17–20, 2005.
ESEM was a co-organising society at the European study Group for rehabilitation and Functional surgery following Laryngectomy (EGLF) conference in Groningen this year. This meeting was organised by ESEM Council Member and Secretary General, Bart Verkerke. ESEM organised one of the six sessions at the congress in the area of tissue engineering and ESEM Council Members, Clive Lee, Fergal O’Brien and Bart Verkerke represented the Society on the scientific board for the meeting. Here is Prof Verkerke's report on the meeting:
'Preceding the congress three workshops had been organised: Prof. Ingo Herrmann (Rome, I) demonstrated two new surgical reconstruction techniques after total laryngectomy. Dr. Bernard van der Laan en dr. Frederik Dikkers (Groningen, NL) gave a hands-on course ‘Larynx-endoscopy and tracheotomy’. The third workshop was organised by Servox and was entitled ‘Speech rehabilitation after laryngectomy with the electrolarynx’. During the congress the most recent results of scientific research on laryngectomy and the resulting rehabilitation process were presented. The congress was visited by 120 scientists all over the world. Twelve companies were present on the industrial exhibition. The ESEM-workshop concentrated on the applications of tissue engineering. Dr. G.J. van Osch gave a guest lecture on perspectives of cartilage tissue engineering for airway reconstruction, five oral presentations were given followed by a round table discussion. The ESEM-award for the best presentation was won by L.M. Janssen for his presentation ‘ Tracheal reconstruction with the use of titanium combined with autologous tissues’. BIOMECH 2005 - Applied Biomechanics, Regensburg, Germany, June 1-3, 2005
ESEM was invited to be a co-organising society at the BIOMECH 2005 meeting this year. Clive Lee was on the Scientific Committee for the meeting. Prof. David Taylor from Dept. of Mechanical Engineering in Trinity College Dublin reports on the meeting:
'The conference 'Regensberg Applied Biomechanics' took place in the charming Bavarian city of Regensberg, hosted by the university and medical school. The papers presented covered a broad range of topics but there was a special emphasis on the application of biomechanics in trauma situations, such as fracture fixation, which reflected local expertise. Work from many German universities and hospitals was complemented by invited presentations from other centres of excellence elsewhere in Europe. A particular innovation, which proved to be a highlight of the conference, was the inclusion of a live surgical operation, transmitted in real time from the nearby hospital, which allowed the delegates to directly observe and interact with surgeons carrying out a novel minimally-invasive fracture fixation procedure. Another very successful initiative was a series of discussion workshops exploring future directions for research. These workshops were lead by a panel group but succeeded in stimulating much interaction from other delegates. A number of interesting social events were arranged, including the rare opportunity of a trip to Walhalla. Enough free time was allowed to give delegates the opportunity to explore the beautiful medieval city with its ancient bridge. Everyone agreed that this was one of the most well-organised conferences that we had attended: nothing was too much trouble for the friendly local staff. It is very much to be hoped that this first Regensburg Applied Biomechanics conference will not be the last' 
IUTAM Symposium on the Biomechanics of Impact: from Fundamental Insights to Applications, Dublin, Ireland July 11-15, 2005.
ESEM was a co-organising society and officially endorsed this International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (IUTAM) meeting. Clive Lee was on the local organising committee for the meeting.
European Medical & Biological Engineering Conference, Prague, Czech Republic, November 20-25, 2005
ESEM has been invited to be a co-organising society at the EMBEC´05 meeting next year. Nine Council members of ESEM have joined the International Scientific Advisory Board for the meeting. Clive Lee and Fergal O'Brien are organising a Tissue Engineering for Orthopaedic Applications Symposium at this conference. A number of well known internationals experts in the field have been invited to speak at the symposium and each will contribute a paper to a Special Issue of Technology and Health Care which will be edited by Prof. lee and Dr. O'Brien. Further details about the meeting can be found at the conference website: http://www.embec05.org/. Please note that the abstract deadline for this conference has been extended until May 6, 2005. The IFMBE will also be present at EMBEC'05 as a technical co-sponsor. The IFMBE has introduced two awards at EMBEC'05: 'The IFMBE Outstanding Chinese Student Award' and 'The IFMBE Best Conference Paper Award'. Further information can be forund in the attached document. 5th World Congress of Biomechanics, Munich, Germany, July 29-August 4, 2006
ESEM has been invited to be a supporting society at the World Congress of Biomechanics in Munich in 2006. Clive and ESEM member, Jan Hazenburg are organising the 4th ESEM International Symposium on Microdamage in Bone. A number of well known internationals experts in the field have been invited to speak at the symposium and each will contribute a paper to a Special Issue of Technology and Health Care
Full details are available on the conference website: http://www.wcb2006.org/ CMBEC29, Vancouver, Canada, June 1-3, 2006
The next meeting of the Canadian Medical and Biological Engineering Society will be held in June, 2006. Vancouver has been selected to host the event.
It will be held in the Empire Landmark Hotel which is located in the heart of downtown Vancouver within walking distance to shopping centres and major tourist attractions. The weather in beautiful British Columbia in June is always fabulous; the season and location will be ideal for welcoming biomedical engineering colleagues and friends from around the world. More information can be found at: http://www.cmbes.ca
ESAO Conference, Umea, Sweden, September 2006
ESEM has been invited to be a co-organising society at the European Society for Artificial Organs. Further details will be available soon at: http://www.esao.org/ ESEM Book
Plans are afoot for the publication of an ESEM textbook aimed at bridging the gap between engineering and medicine. We hope to use this as the basis for a series of symposia Engineering Principles to Medical Practice to be held at medical meetings to foster interaction between the two professions in teaching, research and clinic practice. More details will be available in the next Newsletter.
Please send all your materials for inclusion in the next issues of ESEM-News to :
Dr. Fergal J O’Brien, Dept. of Anatomy, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 123 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland. Email: Click Here, Tel. +353-1-402 2149, Fax. +353-1-
|