Medicon’98 is the VIII in the series of regional meetings of the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE) in the Mediterranean.
The goal of Medicon’98 is to provide updated information on the state of the art on Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing. The program consists of 190 invited and submitted papers on new developments in these fields.
The papers, more specifically, are presented in 29 sessions covering the topics of Medical Imaging (Radiography, Ultrasound, Nuclear Medicine, MRI, and Multimodality Imaging), Biosignal Processing (EEG, Eps, and the Cardiovascular System), Intelligent Systems, Telemedicine, Cardiovascular System (Experimental and Applied, and Heart Rate and Signal Analysis), Nerve and Muscle Systems, Modelling in Biological Systems, Cellular Engineering, Implants, Biomechanics, Radiotherapy, Radiation Protection, Instrumentation, and Clinical Engineering . In addition, the
following two sessions which are directly related to European Union projects will be hosted: Electronic Market for Medical Devices: Medicom Project , and Quantitative Analysis of Ultrasonic Imaging of Atherosclerotic Plaques .
Furthermore, the technical program is highlighted by three plenary sessions, including presentations on Information Technology in Biomedicine: The Next Step Beyond by S.Laxminarayan, NextGen Internet and NJ Institute of Technology, USA, Integrated Telemedicine Networks and Added Value by S. Orphanoudakis, University of Crete,
Greece, Computers in Surgery and Diagnosis by E. Micheli- Tzanakou, Rutgers University, USA, Collaboration of Biomedical Engineering and Medical Informatics On the Road to Citizen- Centred Care by Ilias Iakovidis, European Commission, DGXIII, Belgium, and Education and Training Initiatives in Europe by C. Roberts King´s College School of Medicine and Dentistry, UK.
Also, a Meet the Editors session is hosted, where the participants will have the opportunity to meet the editors of three major Biomedical Engineering journals: Medical Engineering & Physics, Colin Roberts, Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing , Alan Murray, and IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicine, Swamy Laxminarayan.
A student paper contest will take place during the Medicon´98 where 11 students will compete. The contest is carried out in memory of Dick Poortvliet, dinstinguished biomedical engineer and active member of IEEE Region 8.
The proceedings of the conference are available on CD ROM medium, providing the immediate access and the easy retrieval of information.
Medicon´98 is deeply honoured to host the IFMBE Administrative Council, as well as the National Secretaries Committee meetings.
Particular thanks are expressed to the kind support and efforts of M. Bracale, S.Cerutti, G. Dimitrov, N. Dimitrova, C. Hadjivasiliou, K. Kouris, D. Koutsouris, A.Nicolaides, N. Ouzounoglou, N. Pallikarakis, S. Sideman, V. A. Spasic, and N.Zamboglou for their valuable help in making this conference a success.
We would like to thank Frank Schnorrenberg and Soteroula Papademetriou for their exceptional work and technical assistance in managing the papers, as well as in preparing the final program. In addition, we would like to extend our thanks to Elena Polykarpou for preparing the book of abstracts, and to Irene Abu- Rumman, Savvoulla Efstathiou, and Christina Hadjiyianni for their dedicated work and secretarial support throughout the course of this conference.
Finally, a heartfelt thanks to all of you, the participants, wishing you every success in your work at the conference. We hope that Medicon´98 will offer opportunities for professional growth, and establishing new contacts with fellow colleagues. Our intention is to do all we can to make your participation in Medicon´98 worthwhile and your stay in Cyprus enjoyable.