health insurance for europe travel

Location: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Dates: 2-5 October 2006
Venue: Intercontinental Hotel & MBNA Conference Center

Renowned keynote speakers will describe the spectrum of materials-related challenges in orthopedics and spinal disorders, cardiovascular diseases, neurology and neurosurgery, and minimally invasive surgery at the upcoming Materials, Medicine and Nanotechnology Summit, to be held in Cleveland Oct. 2-5, 2006.

Hosted by Cleveland Clinic, ASM International and the Nano-Network, the Summit will bring together clinicians, materials experts and medical device manufacturers and suppliers to discuss the latest materials advances, nanotechnology discoveries and medical applications for the healthcare industry.

The Summit will feature a Nanomedicine track focused on biomedical sensors, drug delivery, cellular diagnostics, tissue engineering, and clinical opportunities for nanoparticles. A parallel program track on Materials and Processes for Medical Devices (MPMD) will recognize the role of materials selection and processes in the development of new devices.

Plenary keynote speakers include:

• Edward C. Benzel, M.D., Chairman of the Cleveland Clinic Spine Institute and Director of the Neurological Surgery Residency Training Program. Dr. Benzel will discuss the future of spine surgery and opportunities for using micro- and nanotechnology that enable neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons to perform therapies that were previously thought impossible, and to monitor patients more accurately and with greater safety.
• Leonard A.R. Golding, M.D., Director of the Innovative Ventricular Assist System (IVAS) Program at Cleveland Clinic, who will discuss the state-of-the-art cardiac pump for use in patients with terminal heart failure that was developed at Cleveland Clinic.
• Ali Rezai, M.D., Chairman of the Center for Neurological Restoration and Director of the Brain Neuromodulation Center at Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Rezai will discuss the brain surgery technique called deep brain stimulation and the brain “pacemaker” device that has led to improved quality of life from patients suffering with Parkinson’s disease, migraine headaches and other chronic pain syndromes, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and stroke survivors.
• Dana J. Medlin, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Materials & Metallurgical Engineering Department, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. A leading expert on materials for orthopedic applications, Medlin will describe major trends in minimally invasive surgical procedures, which radically reduce the size of the surgical incision and potentially cause less damage to the soft tissue surrounding the replaced joint .
• Sanjay Shrivastava, Ph.D., Principal Engineer, Abbott Vascular Devices, He will describe the impact of materials on the development of minimally invasive procedures and implants, which have replaced many complex surgical procedures during the past decade. Vascular implants for peripheral vessels in particular have been impacted by Nitinol. This alloy has enhanced the development of minimally invasive procedures for the placement of vascular stents.

Plenary keynote speakers representing ASM’s Materials and Processes for Medical Devices initiative include:

• Dana J. Medlin, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Materials & Metallurgical Engineering Department, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. A leading expert on materials for orthopedic applications, Medlin will describe major trends in minimally invasive surgical procedures, which radically reduce the size of the surgical incision and potentially cause less damage to the soft tissue surrounding the replaced joint
• Sanjay Shrivastava, Ph.D., Principal Engineer, Abbott Vascular Devices, He will describe the impact of materials on the development of minimally invasive procedures and implants, which have replaced many complex surgical procedures during the past decade. Vascular implants for peripheral vessels in particular have been impacted by Nitinol. This alloy has enhanced the development of minimally invasive procedures for the placement of vascular stents.

Program Details

“If the researchers don’t know what the clinicians are doing, and the clinicians don’t know what the scientists are doing, it’s like an uncoordinated person playing basketball. You need coordination.”

— Edward C. Benzel, M.D., Chairman of Cleveland Clinic Spine Institute, Director of the Neurological Surgery Residency Program, Director of the Spine Surgery Fellowship Program, and Vice Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery atCleveland Clinic

Education Classes: Monday, October 2

Materials and Processes for Medical Deviceseducation classescovering polymers, basic metallurgy, Nitinol, and fracture and fatigue for medical devices. Morning sessions are designed for engineers and materials professionals, with afternoon sessions designed for clinicians and medical practitioners.

Please visit the conference website at http://www.nanomedicinesummit.org/ for registration and exhibitor information.

Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Dates: 4 October 2006

HSC-1A1
3:00 pm to 4:30 pm
Reception to follow-Phoenix Lounge, Wentworth House

• Lecturer: Pascale Lehoux
  Associate Professor, Department of Health Administration, University of Montreal. Canada Research Chair on Innovation in Health

• Discussant: Geoff Fernie
  Vice President, Research at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute
  Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto

Abstract: Since the mid-1980s, health care systems have had to adapt to the constant emergence of technologies and the rising cost of health care services. Nevertheless, we know very little about why certain innovations emerge while others do not, and who makes these decisions. Although industry is often portrayed as the profit-driven “big bad wolf,” several groups, including clinicians and governments, play a pivotal role in innovation. One issue that remains largely unacknowledged is the extent to which these groups are interdependent. For instance, the industry branch of government largely supports R&D while health care decision-makers are those holding the purse strings. Industry needs to collaborate with patient associations and the media to promote the idea that rapid access to innovations will benefit the population. And clinicians, who generally wish to increase the scope of their clinical tools, usually build convincing claims about their patients’ needs. This lecture will examine how these groups negotiate what innovations should be funded and promoted and how some of their claims become more convincing than others.

Biosketch: Pascale obtained her Ph.D. in Public Health from University of Montreal in 1996. She obtained a National Scholar from the NHRDP (1998-2003) and a New Investigator Award from the CIHR-IHPSR (2003-2005). She is a Researcher with the Groupe de Recherche Interdisciplinaire en Sante (GRIS) at University of Montreal and was a consultant researcher for the Quebec Health Services and Technology Assessment agency (AETMIS) between 1994 and 2004. She currently holds a Canada Research Chair on Innovation in Health (2005-2010) where her current research interests lie with the sociology of innovation, the production and use of Health Technology Assessment (HTA), and knowledge utilization. She recently published a book entitled The Problem of Health Technology.

For further information regarding the Lectureship please contact:

Christine Henderson,
Program for Assessment of Technology in Health (PATH) 25 Main Street West, Suite 2000,
Hamilton, ON. L8P 1H1

Tel: 905-523-7284, x5268
Fax: 905-522-0568
email: hendersc@mcmaster.ca

Website: http://www.path-hta.ca/

Location: Salzau Castle (near Kiel), Germany
Dates: 4-9 October 2006
Deadline for Applications: 7 August 2006 (deadline extended)

• Chair: Uwe Siebert UMIT, Hall, AT & Harvard Medical School, Boston, US
• Co-Chair: Peter Zweifel University of Zürich, CH

A certain number of grants (covering the conference fee and possibly part of the travel costs) will be available for y