11th Nordic-Baltic Conference on Biomedical EngineeringJune, 6-10 1999, Tallinn, EstoniaThe Baltic Sea is the heart of the Nordic Region of the Europe. Historically, the sea has been provided the possibility for exchange of goods and knowledge, economical and cultural experience, for travelling and connecting people, for development of the economic welfare and democratic traditions around it. Biomedical engineering started in Nordic Region of Europe more than 40 years ago - the first national society for medical physics and biomedical engineering was established in Sweden in 1956. That was followed by the societies in Norway and Poland in 1967, in Finland in 1968, in Germany in 1971 and in Denmark in 1972. Owing to the political situation in Eastern Europe, the normal process was then interrupted for many years. The next national society was established in Estonia in 1994, after recent political development in the Baltic Region. A series of Nordic Meetings of Medical and Biological Engineering was started in 1970 - the first one was organised in Finland, Helsinki. The following conferences were organised in Oslo, Norway, 1971; Tampere, Finland, 1975; Lyngby, Denmark, 1977; Linköping, Sweden, 1981; Aberdeen, Scotland, 1984; Trondheim, Norway, 1987; Ålborg, Denmark, 1990; and Lund, Sweden, 1993. As some of you may remember, the last conference in the Nordic conference series on Biomedical Engineering in 1996, held in Tampere, was historical in the sense that the word `Baltic' was added to the conference name, extending the `area of support' to include Baltic countries. In this year, due to the recent development in the Baltic Region, the group of primary organising countries was extended to include, in addition to the Nordic Countries, the other countries bordering the Baltic Sea - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania as well as Poland and Germany. In addition, the 10th Nordic-Baltic Conference on Biomedical Engineering in Tampere was aimed to be 'fully international so that the Nordic and Baltic participants could present their research results to the largest possible international audience and create new contacts at a worldwide level' ( from the Opening Address of Professor Jaakko Malmivuo in Tampere, 9 June 1996). This goal was reached: more than 400 active participants from 36 countries including Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia attended at the 10th Nordic-Baltic Conference in Tampere. There were a total of 350 scientific contributions, including 236 oral presentations, published in Proceedings as a supplement to Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing. The next conference in 1999 is the first IFMBE regional conference actually held in a Baltic State, in Estonia, in Tallinn. Now, at the turn of the millennium, it seems especially suitable to get together in the 1000-year-old city of Tallinn, which has once been a remarkable trading and cultural centre in Europe, belonging to the Hansa League, and which is now struggling to regain its old position. The organisers of the 11th NBC aim to follow the spirit of the previous conference in Tampere - the Nordic-Baltic conference should be a fully international worldwide forum for Biomedical Engineering. The conference themes will cover traditionally a broad spectrum of subjects in Biomedical Engineering. However, the conference will have some special features we would like to point out here. One of the special features is organising minisymposia with the contribution of 3-4 invited lecturers each, to give the participants better state-of-the-art overview on several important subjects. The topics of the minisymposia will include:
The 11th Nordic-Baltic Conference on Biomedical Engineering is the last one in this series in this millennium. It is therefore a suitable landmark to have a look into the past, to draw conclusions and make plans for the future. The political situation in Europe has changed dramatically during the last ten years. Scientists who formerly worked on different sides of the iron curtain, can now communicate and change their ideas freely. We hope that the conference in Tallinn will serve as a forum where new scientific contacts will be made. To fulfil these aims, a panel discussion will be held during the conference. In integrating Europe, co-operation between research groups from different parts of Europe is growing. To offer information about research activities going on in Europe, we have included symposia on Biomedical Engineering in EC Fifth Framework Programme and on Health Telematics in EC Programmes into the schedule of the conference. It has been calculated that the ratio between working adults and the over 75-year old population will decrease nearly 39% during following 25 years (IFMBE News No. 27, November 1997). This means that the importance of taking good care of elderly people is increasing rapidly. Much can be done by developing health care technology. The latter symposium will emphasise this trend. The Biomedical Engineering Centre of Tallinn Technical University and Estonian Society for Biomedical Engineering and Medical Physics as organisers of the 11th Nordic-Baltic Conference cordially welcome you in Tallinn on 6-10 June 1999. Secretariat of the 11th NBC Biomedical Engineering Centre Tallinn Technical University Ehitajate Road 5 EE0026, Tallinn Estonia Fax: +3726202201; Email: nbc99@bmt.cb.ttu.ee Internet http://www.cb.ttu.ee/nbc99 | ||