ISCAS is Concerned with Universal Excellence

by Pierre Jannin

Dear colleagues,

ISCAS has various objectives, including promoting Computer Aided Surgery and associated technologies, educating the new generation, accelerating transfer from research to bedside through industrial participation, fostering innovation and excellence throughout conferences, and other events.

On the latter, it is mandatory to consider all the different aspects of excellence that could finally help us to achieve our main objective: to improve health care for the patient and society. Due to its, by definition, interdisciplinary nature, excellence in CAS includes the following. Scientific excellence is a basis for sounded and rigorous methodology. It includes Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics, Biology, as well as human and social sciences. Engineering excellence has objectives in studying systems, integrating components and devices, bridging the gap between sounded methodologies and usable ones. It is concerned with System engineering, Integration, Validation, and Evaluation.

Applicative excellence has the objective in finding and demonstrating values on new concrete clinical applications for better health care. Finally, translational excellence is mandatory for final transfer of methods and technologies for clinical routine and widespread dissemination. It concerns industrial transfer, validation and evaluation efforts.

Excellence in CAS is equal to the sum of all excellence in these areas. We mandatorily need to respect and consider all aspects of excellence to reach our objectives. ISCAS has the responsibility to ensure that there is space for all these aspects. This should be done through our activities as regards to educational events, conferences and journals. ISCAS shoul be concerned with excellence at all levels.

Yours faithfully,
Pierre Jannin,
ISCAS President

Pierre Jannin, PhD is a senior INSERM researcher and head of the MediCIS (Modeling Surgical Knowledge and Processes) Inserm Research group, Faculty of Medicine, Rennes University, France. He is the President of the International Society of Computer Aided Surgery (ISCAS).