Biomedical engineering in Latin AmericaThe Latin American Regional Council on Biomedical Engineering (CORAL), founded through the initial co-sponsorship of the IFMBE and the IEEE/EMBS, and formed by the representatives of the National Societies and EMBS Chapters in Latin America and the Caribbean, held its 7th Annual Meeting in Bucaramanga, Colombia, in October 11, 1996 within the frame of Bioingenenieria '96, the national symposium of the Asociacion Colombiana de Bioingenieria (Colombian Association of Bioengineering). CORAL is enthusiastically preparing for the 1st Latin American Congress on Biomedical Engineering, to be hosted by SOMIB, the Mexican Society of Biomedical Engineering, in November 1998. The scope of this event involves countries from along the length of the Americas, from Mexico in the north to Argentina in the south. The Mexican organising committee is expecting attendees from many countries and they look for a meeting which is as successful as other regional conferences on biomedical engineering that are held throughout the world. A new CORAL executive committee was elected in Bucaramanga for a two-year term (1997-8). In addition to two members-at-large from Brazil and Venezuela it comprises as new officers: President: Adriana Velazquez Peynetti, (Mexico) The Administrative Committee held its Eighth Annual Meeting (CORAL VIII) on June 11, 1997 in Carabobo, Venezuela. A total of eight countries, eight national societies and four EMBS Chapters were represented. The IFMBE and the IEEE/EMBS were members of the administrative committee. The meeting of CORAL VIII took place alongside the IV National Colloquium on Bioengineering, organized by the Venezuelan Society of Bioengineering. Jorge E. Monzon | ||