10th Nordic-Baltic Conference on Biomedical Engineering
On behalf of the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE), I would like to congratulate all of the organising members of the 10th Nordic-Baltic Conference on Biomedical Engineering on its successful outcome.
This conference is also historically very important because of the official involvement of the Baltic countries. Needless to say, the Baltic region is one of the key areas in the currently developing biomedical engineering fields.
This conference was literally the showcase of the progress of each area of BME, with many participants not only from the Nordic-Baltic region and other European countries, but also from the United States, Africa, Oceania and Asia.
We enjoyed fruitful discussions, which clearly pointed out our roles and future developing targets. I have reconfirmed the importance of the idea of establishing the international network of BME.
I
would like to thank President Jaakko Malmivuo and all the other organising
committee members for their heartfelt hospitality and the excellent organisation
of the conference. Let us look forward to meeting again at the 11th
Nordic-Baltic Conference, which will be held in Estonia in 1999.
PROFESSOR F. KAJIYA, IFMBE President
Professor Fumihiko Kajiya, IFMBE President, presenting the greetings of the Federation in the Opening Ceremony at the 10th Nordic-Baltic Conference on Biomedical Engineering
In June 1996 The Ragnar Granit Institute and the Ragnar Granit Foundation organised the 10th Nordic-Baltic Conference on Biomedical Engineering, continuing the series of Nordic Conferences on BME. They also jointly organised the 1st International Conference on Bio-electromagnetism. The conferences were organised in co-operation with the Finnish Society for Medical Physics and Medical Engineering, and they were regional conferences of the IFMBE, IEEE and ESEM.
IFMBE President Professor Fumihiko Kajiya participated in the conferences and presented the greetings of the Federation. Professor Jaakko Malmivuo, Director of the Ragnar Granit Institute, served as Congress President. President of the Republic of Finland, Mr. Martti Ahtisaari served as Patron of the conferences.
Owing to the recent developments in the Baltic region, the group of primary organising countries was increased to include those bordering the Baltic sea in addition to the Nordic countries. These were Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania as well as Poland and Germany. The purpose was to give the Baltic states, who had recently received their independence once more, an opportunity to participate fully in the international scientific community. In this sense the conferences may be characterised as historical. (Iceland was also represented for the first time.)
It was intended to make the conferences 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 world-wide level. In addition to these goals, the aim was to strengthen the international status of bio-electromagnetism by establishing a new series of conferences in this field. All these goals were reached and perhaps even exceeded.
The conferences were attended by more than 400 active participants from 36 countries including Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia. There were a total of 350 scientific contributions, 236 of which were oral presentations given in eight parallel sessions.
There were 19 organised sessions, including 74 invited papers. 113 of the presentations originated from the Nordic Countries and 35 from the Baltic states. In addition to these, the conferences included 13 high-quality state-of-the-art lectures. Among them was a presentation given by the Nobel Laureate Professor Ivar Giaever.
The Proceedings were published as Supplements to Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing.
The incorporation of the Baltic states in the international scientific community is emphasised by the selection of Tallinn as the venue for the next Nordic-Baltic Conference in 1999. The strengthening of the status of bio-electromagnetism is indicated by the fact that the second International Conference on Bio-electromagnetism will be organised in Melbourne in 1998.
The conferences were preceded by four Preconference Courses in the field of signal processing, biosensors and bio-electromagnetism. Two satellite symposia were also organised in connection with the conferences. A Preconference Symposium was organised in Lapland, including a special Midnight Sun Symposium on co-operation between universities and industry. The Postconference Symposium on bio-electromagnetic measurements was organised in Tallinn.
The Internet was actively used in promoting the conferences. Detailed information on the conferences may be found at http://www.ee.tut.fi/~nbc96/.
Information on the 11th Nordic-Baltic Conference on Biomedical Engineering will be found at http://www.cb.ttu.ee/nbc99/, and details of the 2nd International Conference on Bio-electromagnetism at http://www.monash.edu.au/oce/icbem.htm.
PROFESSOR JAAKKO MALMIVUO, Director of the Ragnar Granit Institute
Professor
Jaakko Malmivuo, President of the Conferences (centre), with Professor Hiie
Hinrikus (left), Tallinn Technical University, President of the 11th
Nordic-Baltic Conference on Biomedical Engineering, and Associate Professor
Irena Cosic (right), Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, President of the
2nd International Conference on Bio-electromagnetism. Professor Hinrikus is
holding the birch-bark horn which is a relay for the organisers of the Nordic
conferences. Professor Cosic is carrying the birch-bark backpack, the relay for
bio-electromagnetism conferences.
Professor
Robert Plonsey, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, Co-chairman of the
Conferences, and Professor Fumihiko Kajiya, IFMBE President