• download CARS 2011 1st Annoucement (PDF-File)

Main Themes

• Medical Imaging
• Computed Maxillofacial Imaging
• Image Processing and Visualization
• PACS and IHE
• Telemedicine and E-Health
• Computer Aided Diagnosis
• Computer Assisted Radiation Therapy
• Image and Model Guided Therapy
• Personalized Medicine
• Surgical Navigation
• Surgical Robotics and Instrumentation
• Surgical Simulation and Education
• Computer Assisted Orthopaedic and Spinal Surgery
• Computer Assisted Head and Neck, and ENT Surgery
• Image Guided Neurosurgery
• Minimally Invasive Cardiovascular and Thoracoabdominal Surgery
• Digital Operating Room

25th International Congress and Exhibition on Computer Assisted Radiology (CAR)

Chairman: Stanley Baum, MD (USA)

• Medical Imaging, e.g. CT, MR, US, SPECT, PET, DR, Molecular
  Imaging, and Virtual EndoscopyComputer Assisted Cardiovascular Imaging
• Image Processing and Display
• Medical Workstations
• Interventional Radiology
• Minimally Invasive Spinal Therapy
• Image Guided Diagnosis and Therapy of the Prostate
• Ablation Therapies
• Image Guided Radiation Therapy
• Nanotechnology for Imaging and Therapy
• Telemedicine, E-health and Multimedia EPR
• Expert Systems and Computer Assisted Education
• Economic and Management Issues

15th Annual Conference of the International Society for Computer Aided Surgery (ISCAS)

 President: Gero Strauss, MD (D)

• Computer Applications for e.g. Neurosurgery, Head and Neck,
  Orthopaedics, Ear Nose and Throat, Cardiovascular and
• Thoracoabdominal Surgery, and Plastic/Reconstructive Surgery
• Image Guided Therapy
• Image Processing and Visualization
• Surgical Robotics and Instrumentation
• Surgical Navigation
• Surgical Simulation
• 3D Modelling and Rapid Prototyping
• Postoperative Result Assessment
• Surgical Education and Training
• Haptics and Multimodal Devices in Medical Applications
• Methods of Validation and Verification
• Computer-Assisted Planning
• Decision Management
• Navigated Control
• Surgical Workplace – Ergonomics

13th International Workshop on Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD)

Chairman: Kunio Doi, PhD (USA)
Co-chair: Ulrich Bick, MD (D)

• CAD for Breast, Chest, Colon, Skeletal, Liver, Brain and
• Vascular Imaging
• CAD for Cancer Screening
• CAD for 3D Imaging
• CAD for Differential Diagnosis
• CAD for CT, MRI, Ultrasonography, PET and Nuclear Medicine Imaging
• Image Databases for CAD
• Computer Vision, ANN and Modelling
• Computerized Detection and Characterization of Lesions in Radiological Images
• Quantitative Analysis of Image Information
• Visualization and Quantitation of 3D Images
• Intelligent Workstations and Decision Support Systems
• Observer Performance Studies and ROC Analysis
• Clinical Evaluation and Prospective Studies
• Image Quality Issues and Evaluation
• CAD in PACS Environment

17th Computed Maxillofacial Imaging Congress (CMI)

Chairman: Allan G. Farman, PhD, DSc (USA)

• New Imaging Devices and Novel Applications
• Evidence-based Selection Criteria in Digital Maxillofacial Imaging
• Craniomaxillofacial Computer-Aided Diagnosis
• Maxillofacial Image Enhancement Algorithms
• Cranial and Maxillofacial Image Guided Surgery
• Image Navigated Dental Implantology
• Orthodontic Applications of Computed Imaging
• Endodontic Applications of Computed Imaging
• Imaging and Modelling for Maxillofacial Prosthodontics
• Cone Beam CT
• 3D and 4D Imaging
• Multi-dimensional Maxillofacial Modelling
• Virtual Reality and Dental Robotics
• Interoperability
• Maxillofacial Applications in Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise 

29th International EuroPACS Meeting

President: Osman M. Ratib, MD, PhD (CH)

• PACS Architecture and Workflow
• PACS Workstation Design and Ergonomics
• PACS Integration in Surgical and Interventional Suites
• Open Source Software for PACS
• PACS Planning and Purchasing Strategies
• PACS Evaluation and Economical Aspects
• PACS Beyond Radiology (Cardiology, Endoscopy, Ophthalmology, etc.)
• Image Distribution, Storage and Archiving Strategies
• PACS/RIS/HIS Integration Issues
• Regional PACS and Teleradiology
• Security and Privacy, Quality Assurance, Legal Aspects
• Standardization (DICOM, HL7, IHE)
• PACS and E-Learning in Radiology and Medical Sciences

12th CARS/SPIE/EuroPACS Joint Workshop on Surgical PACS and the Digital Operating Room

Chairmen: Osman M. Ratib, MD, PhD (CH),
Heinz U. Lemke, PhD (D)

• Surgical Workflow
• Digital Operating Room
• Therapy Imaging and Model Management Systems
• Surgical PACS
• DICOM and IHE in Surgery
• Management and Assessment of OR Systems Integration
• Architectures of ORs and Imaging Suites

3rd EPMA / IFCARS Workshop on Personalized Medicine and ICT

Chairs: O. Golubnitschaja, MD (D), H.U. Lemke, PhD (D)

• Model-Guided Medicine
• Patient-Specific Modelling
• Model Management
• Clinical Examples of Personalized Medicine for Diabetes

a commentary by Leonard Berliner, MD, Department of Radiology, New York Methodist Hospital, Brooklyn, USA

CARS: Bridging the gap, worldwide, between engineering and medicine

Under the increasingly broad umbrella of computer applications in medicine, the International Congress and Exhibition of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery (CARS), each year, covers a wider range of topics, attracts a more varied group of contributors and reaches a growing audience.

1. CARS is an International Meeting:
The international nature of the CARS Meeting is a very important feature. Any and all countries that are involved in the advancements in computers in medicine are represented among the organizers, presenters, and attendees of the CARS meetings, promoting both a national and international sense of accomplishment. As attendees of CARS, we can look forward to experiencing different countries and cultures each year, in a manner that enhances international communication, cooperation, and education.

2. CARS has a Comprehensive and Unique Syllabus:
The CARS meeting is the only meeting worldwide which addresses all facets of computer applications in medicine under a single roof. Each year the agenda of the meeting expands to encompass the ever growing list of topics that are of relevance to those on the engineering side as well as the practitioner’s side of computer applications in medicine.

The list of topics, all of which are covered in depth, includes:

• Medical Imaging, e.g. CT, MR, US, SPECT, PET, DR, Molecular Imaging, and Virtual Endoscopy
• Image Processing and Display
• 3D, 4D and 5D Imaging
• Hospital-wide PACS and Telemedicine
• Computer Applications for e.g. Neurosurgery, Head and Neck, Orthopaedics, Ear Nose and Throat, Cardiovascular and Thoracoabdominal Surgery, and Plastic/Reconstructive Surgery
• Image Guided Therapy
• Surgical Robotics and Instrumentation
• Surgical Navigation
• 3D Modelling and Rapid Prototyping
• Postoperative Result Assessment
• Surgical Education and Training
• Haptics and Multimodal Devices in Medical Applications
• Methods of Validation and Verification
• CAD for Breast, Prostate, Chest, Colon, Liver, Brain, Skeletal and Vascular Imaging
• Cranial and Maxillofacial Image Guided Surgery
• Surgical Workflow
• Surgical DICOM and IHE
• Digital Operating Room
• Personalized, Predicitive, and Preventative Healthcare
• Patient-Specific Modeling and Model-Based Surgery
  

One would have to attend selected lectures at numerous international meetings in the US, Europe and Japan, such as RSNA, ECR, SPIE, and SIIM, as well as various Surgical, Radiology, Dental, ENT and Orthopedic Meetings, in order to be exposed to the material presented at CARS.

3. CARS is a Personalized, Academic Meeting:
CARS is an academic program, in which researchers and practitioners can present their most up-to-date research and interact on a personal level. All presenters are accessible to all attendees, not only during the scientific sessions, but during organized social events.

In addition, an attendee can modify his or her schedule at the CARS meeting, to meet their own personal needs. If one wishes to focus on particular medical disciplines, such as Cardiovascular Surgery, Neurosurgery or Maxillofacial Surgery, the standard daily schedule may be followed. If one wishes to focus on a particular technology, such as robotics or imaging technologies, one may scan across the daily schedules and achieve a more focused, personalized schedule from among the various disciplines.

4. CARS is at the crossroads of Research and Application:
By attending the CARS meeting each year, one has the unique perspective in which the gradual transformation of theory into practical reality can be observed first hand. One is given the opportunity to see advancements in medical technology develop gradually and incrementally. And, since many of these advancements are first seen at CARS, participants have the unique opportunity to influence the manner and direction in which they develop.

For example, consider Cone Beam CT. We have seen the gradual development of this technology from prototypes, theoretical proposals, and a series of isolated technical papers into the beginnings of commercially available, practical, and medically useful equipment. The initial clinical applications were in dental imaging, and now Cone Beam CT is finding its way into Angiography Suites, providing cross-sectional imaging and interventional navigation.

5. CARS is a blend of the Academic and the Commercial:
Vendors have several forums and opportunities to present their products fairly at CARS: in the scientific sessions; in sessions for vendors; and at the exhibition booths. The interactions between vendors and attendees seem less commercial than at many other meetings, and more like an opportunity for academic and commercial development.

The CARS meeting provides manufacturers the opportunity, at a single meeting, to meet with researchers, practitioners and leaders, from 5 continents, who are on forefront of medical technology.

6. International Journal of CARS (IJCARS)
The International Journal for CARS is a peer-reviewed journal that aims to provide a forum to bridge the gap between the medical and technical disciplines and to encourage interdisciplinary research and development activities in an international environment. The International Journal of CARS presents results from the many fields of interest, listed above, in selected proffered papers, review articles, short communications and commentaries.

To improve health care for patients world-wide, the focus of the International Journal of CARS is on providing balanced and in-depth information on new diagnostic and therapeutic processes. These include results from multidisciplinary R&D efforts, providers' experiences, patient outcomes, economic considerations and scientific/medical validation results.

In Summary:

CARS may be thought of as an international, academic society, guided by a sense of ethics, dedicated to bridging the gap between the disciplines of biomedical engineering and clinical medicine (including surgery, informatics, and diagnostic and interventional imaging), through the organization of scientific meetings and symposia to promote education and the exchange of new ideas, and to provide for the presentation and publication of original research.

Leonard Berliner, MD
October 2009