@ismcs
A Letter from the Program Chair
June 10, 2017
Dear ISMCS (ISRBP) Member and Friends,
On behalf of the Annual Program Organizing Committee and Scientific Committee I would like to invite you to attend the upcoming annual meeting of our society which will take place on October 15 – 18, 2017 in Tucson Arizona at the beautiful Loews Ventana Canyon Resort. Coordinately, I would like to encourage that you, your team, lab and associates promptly submit abstracts to the meeting! The meeting website is also open now for abstract submission and registration!
As Program chair, I am calling on all members to have their groups submit a minimum of 4-5 abstracts. Similarly, I call on all Board members and Past President to “lead the way” and have their teams submit 7 – 10 abstracts. While this may seem like a bold ask, it is the contribution of individual investigators from around the world, particularly young investigators, that is the academic lifeblood and interchange that makes the meeting. As such, we will endeavor as much as the program will allow to maximize oral presentations. Similarly, we will offer moderated oral posters as well. As the meeting is rapidly approaching, I urge all to submit abstracts now! The listed deadline is July 10th. Please contact me directly with any questions or issues and we will work hard to accommodate everyone to make this a great meeting. The meeting will accept abstracts broadly related to mechanical circulatory support, advanced heart failure, pumps, control systems, blood trauma, hemocompatibility, wearable technologies and monitoring as well as new technologies and approaches relevant to the field.
Recall also that young investigators may designate there abstracts as such and apply for consideration for the Helmut Reul Award – open to young investigators, < 35years old.
We will again offer the ISMCS Young Researcher Scholarship – details will follow on this shortly.
As to the meeting overall, we have some very special things planned! This is the 25th year of our society, 24 years as ISRBP and now the first year as ISMCS. As such this is a celebratory quarter-century milestone for our group! Consistent with this is the progress that the field has made. However, to move with strength into the next quarter-century we must address limitations and gaps that face us on a daily basis. This will be the crux of this meeting. To put a unique imprint on the meeting, rather than being a typical update of status session, we plan some bold steps to truly move forward on innovating to overcome limitations, using the meeting as a discussion mechanism and a thinking laboratory. The title of the meeting is “Limitations, Controversies and Gaps in Mechanical Circulatory Support: Pathways to Solutions” D2I2 = Define, Dissect, Ideate, Innovate. The program is moving along very nicely – details shortly on the web
Meeting Focus and Mission: While there are many meetings in advanced heart failure and mechanical circulatory support which provide general updates, the present meeting, being 25 years collectively (24 as ISRBP and 1 as ISMCS) of our society, will be a bit different – the goal of the ISMCS meeting this year is:
D2I2 = Define, Dissect, Ideate, Innovate, i.e. to focus on defining and dissecting limitations, controversies, and gaps of advanced HF and MCS. The mission is to identify specific elements that may be addressed, to then begin to “ideate” setting us on the pathway to developing solutions and true innovations – to move and grow the field forward in an effective way, affording enhanced safety, efficacy and more widespread appropriate use. Of course, our meeting will provide state-of-the art updates, though this will be done with the above perspective in mind – particularly valuable with the gathering of many from varying health, engineering and business disciplines.
Special Features of ISMCS 25:
- Sessions focused on Specific Limitations, Controversies and Gaps
- Sessions pairing Health Provider with Engineer and Panel discussion – to generate output suggestions/recommendations
- Specific “whitepaper” to come out of this meeting – a Writing Group will craft “Limitations, Controversies and Gaps in Mechanical Circulatory Support: Pathways to Solutions –paper will be peer-reviewed and has been approved for special Issue in Artificial Organs (with “echo” of paper also planned in other CV/CT Journals) – If interested in the writing group please contact me at chairman.syns@gmail.com
- Mini-symposium on Blood, Flow and Thrombosis – with papers plus contributions to appear in separate Special Issue of Artificial Organs
- Hackathon – Five Select Problems/Opportunities in MCS will be posted starting July on the website. Individuals – students, engineers and young faculty (though open to all) encouraged to sign up. Groups will be assembled and individuals will work on posted problems prior to the meeting in “open innovation web environment” and then on site thru the conference – with designated hackathon lab at venue. Outcomes will be presented Wed of the meeting. Several Universities are participating to date including University of Arizona, University of Kentucky, SUNY- Binghamton, StonyBrook. – If interested or your university is interested please contact me at chairman.syns@gmail.com. Otherwise stay tuned and look at conference website Early –mid July for Problems/Opportunities to tackle
- Moderated “Oral” poster sessions
- Mini-symposia – Corporate specific – Updates on Present and Future VADS., TAH, ECMO
- Parallel course on “Building and Enhancing an MCS Program.” – Full day course targeted to new and emerging MCS programs – for MD, VAD Coordinators, Allied Health, Perfusionists
- Half-day VAD Coordinator Course – run by leading experts in the field
- Traditional Soccer game w “Futsal Trophy”
- Opportunities for inter-disciplinary collaboration
- Regional entertainment
- Great weather, amazing natural environment especially adjacent Sabino Canyon and Mount Lemon – hiking, biking, golf, etc.
- Social/Tour Program – spouses, all welcome
- ECMO course offered at conclusion of meeting (additional day)
Let’s make this a great meeting for our society. I look forward to working closely with each and every one of you to make this a great and meaningful meeting. Please do not hesitate to contact me at any time. I look forward to hearing from you, seeing those abstract submissions and greeting you personally in Tucson.
With best regards,
Marvin J. Slepian MD
Program Chair
+1 520 661 8241 (mobile / direct)