Meeting Report
18th Southern Biomedical Engineering Conference and 2nd International Conference on Ethical Issues in Biomedical Engineering
The 18th Southern Biomedical Engineering Conference and the 2nd International Conference on Ethical Issues in Biomedical Engineering were held at the Madren Center, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, on May 21-23, 1999. Over two hundred biomedical engineers, scientists and physicians from nineteen countries participated at this conference and 165 papers were presented.
Dr Winfred Phillips, President of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Past President of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and Dean of Engineering at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, was the Keynote Speaker for the 18th Southern Biomedical Engineering Conference. His talk was entitled 'Biomedical Engineering Issues and Opportunity.'
The Keynote Speaker for the 2nd International Conference on Ethical Issues in Biomedical Engineering was Dr William R. Hendee, President of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences of the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His talk was entitled 'Emerging Bioethical Issues in Health Care: The Challenge for Biomedical Engineering.'
During the first two days of the conference, papers presented in three parallel sessions covered the following topics:
- Orthopaedic Biomechanics
- Cardiovascular Applications
- Bioelectricity
- Bioinstrumentation
- Tissue Engineering
- Image Processing
- Injury Model & Motion Analysis
- Dentistry and Oral Surgery
- Rehab. & Math. Modelling
- Biomaterials
- Research in Progress
- Biosensor & Signal Processing
In addition, representatives from the National Science Foundation and the Whitaker Foundation spoke during the lunch hours on May 21 and May 22 regarding the funding opportunities for bioengineering research. Several undergraduate, graduate and medical student awards, supported by a grant from the Whitaker Foundation, were also presented.
During the final day of the conference, various ethical issues related to the development of biomedical technology were discussed. These included: (1) managed care and the challenge of medical ethics; (2) malpractice in biomedical research; (3) genetic testing; (4) ethical issues in cloning; and (5) the ethical and social dimensions of home-based telemedicine. A panel discussion entitled 'Biomedical Research and Product Development: Ethical Challenges' was also held as a part of the 2nd International Conference on Ethical Issues in Biomedical Engineering. In the future, some of these topics will be addressed at other national and international meetings and at the annual meeting of the AIMBE.
The abstract of all of the papers presented at the conference were published in a special issue of the journal, Critical ReviewsTM in Biomedical Engineering, Vol. 26, Issues 5 & 6, 1998. The proceedings of the conference containing short papers or extended abstracts with further details will be published as a supplement to a future issue of this journal within the next few months. The abstracts of the papers that were presented can also be reviewed at http://sbec.abe. msstate.edu.
If you are interested in purchasing a book of the abstracts (Critical ReviewsTM in Biomedical Engineer-ing, Vol. 26, Issues 5 & 6, 1998, cost $30.00, or the future proceedings volume, cost $50.00), please contact Dr Subrata Saha (address below).
Please note that the 19th Southern Biomedical Engineering Conference will be held at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. The meeting is provisionally set for the weekend of April 14th in the year 2000.
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Dr Subrata Saha Department of Bioengineering |
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