Pittsburgh, PA Hosts Third International Conference on Medical Robotics, Imaging and Computer Assisted Surgery: Tools and Technologies for Clinical Practice.

Business Editors, Health & Medical Writers

PITTSBURGH--(BW HealthWire)--Aug. 1, 2000

MICCAI 2000 is the leading annual conference for clinicians and

scientists that focuses on computer assisted interventions, medical

robotics, image computing, and surgical navigation.

The Centers for Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery (MRCAS) at Carnegie Mellon University and UPMC Shadyside Hospital, as well as the Western Pennsylvania Institute for Computer Assisted Surgery (ICAS) are sponsoring MICCAI 2000 October 11-14, 2000 at the Hilton Pittsburgh and Towers Hotel in Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

The theme for MICCAI 2000 theme is "Tools and Technology for Clinical Practice." MICCAI 2000 includes representation from multiple clinical and research sub-specialties, including neurosurgery, orthopaedics, and cardiovascular surgery on the clinical side, and robotics, computer science, and engineering on the technical element. This year's conference will be co-chaired by Anthony M. DiGioia, M.D. from Pittsburgh and Scott Delp, Ph.D. from Stanford University.

MICCAI 2000 attendees will learn about new computer assisted tools, robotic technologies, image guided intervention, and medical imaging techniques that will become the next generation of surgical tools. Presentations are run as single track, without parallel sessions, and are complemented with poster sessions and extensive hands-on exhibits. Topics to be addressed in this conference include clinical applications of computer technologies and systems, computer assisted interventional systems, robotics, medical imaging, and computing.

"This is one of the leading high-tech medical conferences in the world," notes Anthony M. DiGioia III, MD, MICCAI 2000 co-chair. "The success of these areas is dependent on physicians and researchers to work together and MICCAI is the premiere conference that accomplishes this goal. There is no doubt that these computer assisted tools will become the tools of the future for physicians and surgeons. We as health care practitioners come away from this event knowing how the latest cutting edge hardware and software can help us provide our patients with even better health care."

MICCAI 2000's exhibition area will feature companies demonstrating the latest diagnostic equipment, surgical guidance systems, prosthetic devices, computer hardware, image display and archive systems, image processing software, books, journals, and other materials. The conference is an excellent forum for companies to establish contacts with the clinicians and scientists who are the world's leading opinion makers in medical image computing, computer assisted intervention, surgical guidance, and robotics.

To register for MICCAI 2000 and to obtain more information about the event, visit www.miccai.org.

About MICCAI

The MICCAI Conference series was formed by the merger of CVRMed (Computer Vision, Virtual Reality, and Robotics in Medicine), MRCAS (Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery) and VBC (Visualization in Biomedical Computing). MICCAI 2000 is the third conference since the merger and follows the very successful MICCAI 99 meeting that was held in Cambridge, England.

About Anthony M. DiGioia III, MD

Dr. DiGioia is Co-Director of the Centers for Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery at Carnegie Mellon University and UPMC Shadyside Hospital (Pittsburgh, PA). He is a practicing orthopaedic surgeon. Dr. DiGioia obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering, as well as a masters degree in civil and biomedical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He holds an M.D. from Harvard Medical School and trained in orthopaedic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Dr. DiGioia maintains a private practice in Orthopaedic Surgery with clinical interests in adult reconstruction surgery including total joint replacement, the surgical treatment of arthritis, and computer assisted interventions.

About Scott Delp, Ph.D.

Scott Delp received a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University in 1990. For the next eight years he held a faculty position at Northwestern University, where he was jointly appointed between the Medical and Engineering Schools. Dr. Delp moved to Stanford in 2000 as an Associate Professor in the newly formed Biomechanical Engineering Division in the Mechanical Engineering Department.

Dr. Delp established the Digital Human Lab at Stanford to focus on the development and testing of human movement simulations. These simulations are used to study mechanisms of neuromuscular diseases, and medical devices to guide the performance of surgery and educate engineers, medical students, and surgical residents. Dr. Delp received numerous awards for his work, including the Young Scientist Award from the National Science Foundation, and a TRP award for which he as honored at a White House ceremony with President Clinton.

About MRCAS

Medical robotics and computer assisted surgical technologies span the broad areas of science and engineering to create intelligent tools that can be applied to clinical proactive. Robotic technologies, navigation systems, and computer assisted tools can improve existing clinical procedures as well as provide innovative new approaches to clinical problems. A new breed of computer based devices presents surgeons with robust, clinically practical tools that can do much to augment the physician's skill while reducing the expense of healthcare. Moreover, these tools can be used to directly relate measurable surgical practice to patients' outcomes enabling continuous process improvement in healthcare -- reducing costs by ensuring quality.

About ICAS

The Western Pennsylvania Institute for Computer Assisted Surgery (ICAS) was chartered in 1999 to promote research and development, education, and technical exchange with Pittsburgh regional economic development as a focus. ICAS is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization that supports and works closely with the region's research and education programs to seed the growth of a robust industry sector in southwestern Pennsylvania based on computer assisted surgical tools and technologies.