Report of the 28th Canadian MBE Conference Chair

The 28th Conference of the Canadian Medical and Biological Engineering Society was held from September 9-11, 2004, in Quebec City, Canada. The Conference featured keynote addresses from Dr. Joel Nobel, Founder and President Emeritus of ECRI and from Dr. Morris (Mickey) Milner, Managing Director of the Health Technology Exchange.

The conference attracted more than 100 delegates from across Canada and around the world and highlighted the breadth and strength of the biomedical engineering community in Canada. The conference featured scientific sessions on a variety of topics with over 50 presented papers. Also, over two dozen student members participated in the Student Paper Competition where financial prizes totalling $1000 were awarded thanks to the generous sponsorship of Dynamed Health Care Systems. The first-place winner of this event was Franziska Dietrich, a graduate student from Germany who is currently studying biomedical engineering at Drexel University in Philadelphia, USA. Second- place winner was Jean-François Thouin, a biomedical engineering Masters student from Université de Montréal, and the third-place student winner was Tasima Haque who is currently pursuing her Masters at McGill University in Montreal.

In addition to the scientific sessions, an extensive clinical engineering program was offered in a wide range of topics. In particular, a half-day workshop on electromagnetic interference with medical devices caused by radio transmitting devices such as cell phones, walkie-talkies and two-way pagers was very well attended. Delegates took advantage of the presence of a large number of booths from commercial vendors in the medical devices industry. The Best Booth award was won by Welch Allyn Canada Limited. Between sessions, participants enjoyed the many historic attractions of Old Quebec City.

During the closing banquet, CMBES Awards were presented including:

  • Outstanding Canadian BMET Jeremy Dann from Kentville, NS
  • Outstanding Canadian Biomedical Engineer Paul Fabry, Toronto, ON

Special membership status was awarded to two very deserving individuals:

  • Fellow Dr. Pierre A. Mathieu, Université de Montréal
  • Emeritus Dr. Kenneth H. Norwich, University of Toronto

Thanks to all who made CMBEC28 such a success. We look forward to seeing you at CMBEC29 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in the Spring of 2006. Watch our website, www.cmbes.ca, for more information.

November 2004

Professor Donald Russell
Carleton University