IFMBE Secretaries' Meeting

Tallinn, June 6th 1999

During the Nordic-Baltic Conference in Tallinn (June 6-10, 1999), the IFMBE Secretaries Committee held its annual meeting. This brief report is not intended to replicate the minutes of this meeting, which will be available later, but rather to provide a brief summary of the main points and indicate some points for reflection and action.

Fourteen societies were represented, most by their secretaries, some by their presidents (this is about one out of three, as there are 44 member societies in the IFMBE).

IFMBE officers reported on their activities and plans; some points worth noting are as follows:

  • President Morucci started by stressing the Administrative Council's concern to improve information flow within the Federation.
  • Fumihiko Kajiya (Immediate Past-President) reported on behalf of the Nominating Committee that next year is election year in the Federation. Vacancies for IFMBE President-Elect and Administra-tive Council Members are now open.
  • In the Chicago World Congress, "Merit Awards" will be given to exceptionally meritorious Bio-medical Engineering professionals. Proposals are to be sent confidentially to Dov Jaron, before the end of July 1999.
  • Dov Jaron reported on an effort to improve co-ordination between the Administrative Council and IFMBE-sponsored conferences. A liaison officer will be appointed for each congress. Congress 2000 in Chicago expects 6,000-7,000(!) attendees (see http://www.wc2000.org/). An International Advisory Committee is being established. Each country should have a representative. There is still room for "special or topical sessions" to be associated with the whole event. In this context, Ratko Magjarevic highlighted the need for consistent guidelines for IFMBE conferences, specifying time schedule, publication formats, etc.
  • Niilo Saranummi (IFMBE News editor) urged for submission of articles from the member societies, such as yearly reports, for publication in IFMBE News (distribution 10,000 worldwide; make use of this channel).
  • A new topic, introduced by Professor Rau (Germany), was the presentation of the research institutes (see article in May 99 IFMBE News). It must be evaluated to what extent IFMBE societies' members have email or internet access, in order to change over to electronic distribution of the newsletter. Authors are urged to contact Niilo Saranummi.
  • Heikki Terio reported that the IFMBE Secretariat is now fully operational in Sweden. The IFMBE website server (www.ifmbe.org) has also been moved to Sweden and will shortly be improved. There should also be room for useful links to and information about the member societies: secretaries should submit the information plus a picture or two in electronic form so that it can be put on the www.ifmbe.org site.
  • President Morucci then reported on the initiative to gain full membership for the IUPESM in the ICSU. Our application will be decided in the forthcoming ICSU General Assembly meeting in Cairo in September. To be successful, we need the support of national academies of science and other international unions that are already members of the ICSU.

Although only ten secretaries were present, in all reports from fourteen societies were represented, although unfortunately only a few submitted a written report! Below are some excerpts from these reports:

  • The Croatian Society is preparing the next Medicon to take place in 2001 in the beautiful coastal town of Pula. It is also helping the government in standardisation work on biomedical instrumentation.
  • Estonia is very busy with the Tallinn Conference, at which 200 are expected to attend.
  • In Finland, a strong co-ordination effort is continuing between the six universities offering biomedical engineering courses.
  • In the USA, major work continues to go into the establishment of the AIMBE, an umbrella organisation that represents biomedical engineering and medical physics interests and liases with the federal government (see article in the July 1999 issue of IFMBE News).
  • The Swedish society has been instrumental in the publication of two books on biomedical engineering, one of which is in English.
  • Taiwan has reported on a certification effort for hospital engineers.
  • Iceland has a new board of directors. The Icelandic group proposes to organise the next Baltic-Nordic meeting in 2002. This proposal, seconded by the Estonian Society, has been accepted.
  • In Belgium, a major effort is taking place to co-ordinate all efforts and active societies and groups.
  • In Austria, interest in biomedical engineering seems to be fading in favour of bioengineering. The Austrian Society is making a study.
  • The Slovenian Society has requested that the IFMBE recognise and sponsor a regional conference to be held in Bled in September 2000.
  • The IPEM from the UK has reported on a petition for official registration of medical physicists and biomedical engineers. Their society will organise a teaching programme.
  • The ESEM has reported on its European strategy of bringing together medical doctors and engineers and planning its 2001 meeting in Belfast.
  • The Japanese Society has over 4000(!) members and publishes four journals, one of which is in English (Frontiers in Medical and Biological Engineering).
  • Since the Nice World Conference, the French Society has a new board, with relationships between different groups being formed.

If you want to participate, please note the following action points:

  • Send me (by email) and the IFMBE Secretariat updates of your society's latest news: addresses, information, planned activities, small entry for the web page (including one or two pictures), etc.
  • Encourage wider distribution of the Federation's Journal (folders are available for mailing) and encourage subscription by your members and any libraries you know.
  • Try to make contact with neighbouring countries' societies active in the fields of biomedical or clinical engineering and invite them to join the federation.
  • Report news articles to IFMBE News.
  • Keep in contact and try to attend the Secretaries' Meetings, the next one of which takes place in July 2000 in Chicago, USA.

Many thanks to the Estonian Society for its smooth organisation of the conference in the beautiful city of Tallinn.

Marc Nyssen
Email: marc@minf.vub.ac.be