by Pierre Jannin
Dear ISCAS member, dear reader, dear colleague,
ISCAS is a precious and rare scientific society. ISCAS is fully innovative, interdisciplinary and international. We can be proud of what we have built and are still building together.
The ISCAS society is close to its 20th anniversary and has reached a high level of both maturity and recognition. Thanks to the effort of all people involved from its founding, including the previous ISCAS presidents, board members and members, and thanks to the ISCAS conferences, ISCAS helped the field of Computer Aided Surgery to become a key technology in Medicine.
It has also provided an exceptional example of the power and value of interdisciplinary. This word has now a concrete meaning through the long-standing existence of both the Society and the conference. Additionally, ISCAS has succeeded in gathering key people from all around the world.
This international participation in both the Society and the conference proves once again the success of ISCAS. From the very beginning, ISCAS was able to promote the CAS area, resulting in a significant increase in the quantity and quality of innovation. Additionally, the rigor of the management of financial and administrative aspects of the Society facilitated the participation and recognition of young researchers and students at the conference and helped a new generation through awards and scholarships. Finally, the spirit and values of the Society were also transmitted through the organization of social events, such as the traditional yearly ISCAS boat cruise and the new ISCAS young investigator networking session.
But we still face many challenges…
Our main final objective is to invent, study, and transfer methods and systems for better health care.
The introduction of technology into Medicine has resulted in the development of many new effective medical treatments. However, there are also examples where the technology did not reach its objectives. Reasons include complexity of the technology, long learning curves, undemonstrated added value, unaffordable technology, and long bench to bedside processes. Therefore, the potential for innovative and breakthrough technologies is very high in our area. Our main final objective is to invent, study, and transfer methods and systems for better health care. Definition of « better » requires the definition of metrics. Our metrics include short and long term patient outcome and quality of life. They also include cost, environmental, and ethical societal issues.
The objective of this newsletter is to provide the CAS community with a tool that facilitates sharing of information and open discussion. Your participation is welcome and encouraged. The newsletter as well as the society is yours.
The objective of this newsletter is to provide the CAS community with a tool that facilitates sharing of information and open discussion. Along with the conference, social events, educational initiatives, scholarships, awards, and journal, this newsletter, the associated web site, and the forums will further help build a common vision. With all of this in mind, your participation is welcome and encouraged. The newsletter as well as the society is yours. Please enjoy, contribute, and help us to address the challenges together.
With my best regards,
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, LTSI institute, Faculty of Medicine, Rennes University, France. He is the President of the International Society of Computer Aided Surgery (ISCAS).
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