President’s Report to the IFMBE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1997-2000Over the past three years it has been an honour and a privilege to serve as President of IFMBE and to have this forum for communicating with members throughout the world. This report will inform you of the significant events past and present for our Federation. I have tried to guide the overall direction and this has been done only with the wisdom, the help and the contributions of our Officers, Council Members and chairmen of Divisions, Committees and Working Groups. One of the key responsibilities of a Federation President is to build bridges for the future and I will limit my report to our projects in liaison with ICSU and with the European Affairs. However, I feel it is important to start this report with special thoughts for two of our elders. It is with great sadness that the IFMBE community has learnt in December 1998 of the death of John A. Hopps, President of the Federation between 1971 and 1973 and Secretary General between 1979 and 1985, and in February 2000 of the death of Jack Perkins, President of the Federation between 1963 and 1965. They have contributed enormously to the international renown of our Federation. Their names will remain forever engraved in our memories and will always be associated with the wonderful and great history of bioengineering. IFMBE NewsI would like to start my report by making reference to our newsletter. Most of the information you will find in this report has already been extensively published in the 216 pages of our News from No. 28 January 1998 with my welcome as new President until No. 42 in May 2000. Thanks and congratulations to Niilo. ICSU and IUPESMIUPESM, the first union representing scientists and engineers working in health care delivery systems, was accepted unanimously as the 26th International Scientific Union Member of ICSU at the General Assembly meeting in Cairo, Egypt on 23 September 1999, where our representatives were Gary Fullerton and Dov Jaron. Ten years of efforts to obtain the recognition of our specialities of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering to the level of the Academies of Sciences and to the level of the "noble" sciences were rewarded! The official message from the ICSU Headquarters was: "For the record, I take great pleasure in informing you that the 26th General Assembly of ICSU held in Cairo, Egypt from 28-30 September 1999 voted to admit the International Union for Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine (IUPESM), already an International Scientific Associate of ICSU since 1982, as a Full Scientific Union Member. We are very pleased to welcome you more closely into the ICSU family." When you meet Keith Boddy and Gary Fullerton during the Chicago meeting or later don't hesitate to thank them. They have made a fantastic effort to make this recognition possible. We are now in a position within ICSU to make major contributions to the exploitation of the physical and engineering sciences in medicine for the benefit of patients and people with disabilities world-wide and especially in developing countries. An article by the President of IUPESM, entitled "Caring for the Human Machine into the 21st Century" published in the June issue of Science International (a journal of ICSU) and our participation in the World Science Conference (Oskar Chomicki and Richter Nandor were our excellent representatives), which was sponsored by UNESCO and ICSU, were intended to be contributions to our Key Programme on Improving Public Understanding of Science, as well as raising the profile of IUPESM and our professions. A "brochure" is being drafted by Professor Brian Diffey and Professor Alan Murray in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering respectively. It will be well illustrated and will describe the contributions of physical and engineering sciences to health care, in terms readily understandable by the general public and politicians. When completed, the "brochure" will be published on the IUPESM website. It will also be produced as a printed glossy version, which can be mailed directly to Ministers of Health, opinion formers and interested members of the public. With the approval of the Council, the President formulated and submitted a grant proposal to ICSU, seeking a financial contribution towards its production. We have also to identify IUPESM consensus issues to be put forward at the next ICSU General Assembly meeting scheduled for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in July 2001 and to build on our full membership of ICSU in liaison with bodies from ICSU which have already given some positive feedback to our mailings:
Ad-Hoc Committee on IFMBE Representation in EuropeBased on the initiative by Helmut Hutten, the Ad-Hoc Committee on IFMBE Representation in Europe was established after the first European Conference in Vienna November 1999. After several virtual meetings using e-mails the Committee met in London on 4-5 March 2000. How to conduct the dialogue with the EC and to enter a specific BME programme? This is one of the important issues and maybe a vital challenge for the future. Fruitful contacts have already been established within the EU Commission and activities with joint support from EU and NSF are envisaged. European ProjectsThanks to Nicolas Pallikarakis, the Federation is involved in two new actions: a) Leonardo Programme: On behalf of the International Federation of Medical and Biological Engineering, I have agreed to collaborate in the design and implementation of the transnational pilot project EXELIXIS - Continuing Vocational Training to Healthcare Professionals under the LEONARDO Programme, co-ordinated by the Institute of Biomedical Technology (INBIT), Greece, and to actively participate in the issues concerning accreditation. b) TEMPERE II project: The International Federation of Medical and Biological Engineering participates in the TEMPERE II project, taking into account the importance of the subject and the results already achieved by the TEMPERE I project. Due to my personal involvement in TEMPERE I and the preceding related projects I have proposed to represent the Federation. TEMPERE(Training and Education for Medical Physics and Engineering Reform in Europe) involves a european network of professionals and professional bodies in the fields of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering for proposing a European framework for mutual co-operation and recognition in the above fields. Conclusion Electronic communications through e-mails and home pages have completely modified the operating mode and interaction with the IFMBE members and official bodies. These active levels of communication prevent a President remaining silent. But this fast means of communication is so virtual it will never replace the personal contacts and the meetings. And I speak by experience when opening my IFMBE and IUPESM e-mail boxes and trying to find again an old e-mail among several thousands. Nevertheless, thanks to electronic communication I have achieved with some of you a continuing dialogue and had the opportunity to receive comments, suggestions and criticism. I hope that the new IFMBE President, Dov Jaron, will find in the new President Elect the same help, enthusiasm and efficiency I have found in working with Dov and I wish the Officers and AC members who will serve during the next three years every success in expanding IFMBE activities and promoting bioengineering throughout the world. J.P.Morucci
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