Hojjat ADELI, The Ohio State University, USA

Transformative Role of Machine Learning in Medical Diagnosis in the 21st Century

Hojjat Adeli received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1976 at the age of 26. He is currently an Academy Professor at The Ohio State University where he held the Abba G. Lichtenstein Professorship for ten years. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the international journals Computer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering which he founded in 1986 and Integrated Computer-Aided Engineering which he founded in 1993. He has also served as the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Neural Systems since 2005. He has been an Honorary Editor, Advisory Editor, or member of the Editorial Board of 144 research journals. He has authored over 600 research and scientific publications in various fields of computer science, engineering, applied mathematics, and medicine, including 16 ground-breaking high-technology books. He is the recipient of over sixty awards and honors including three Honorary Doctorates from Lithuania, Spain, and Italy, and Honorary Professorship at several Asian and European Universities. He is a member of Academia Europaea, a corresponding member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Engineering, a foreign member of Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and Polish Academy of Science, a Distinguished Member of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and a Fellow of AAAS, IEEE, AIMBE, and American Neurological Association. He was profiled as an Engineering Legend in the journal Leadership and Management in Engineering, ASCE, April 2010, by a noted biographer of legendary engineers.

Marius George LINGURARU, Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children's National Health System in Washington, DC, USA

AI in Pediatric Medical Imaging: Digital Dysmorphology for Diverse Populations with Genetic Syndromes

Marius George Linguraru, DPhil MA MSc loves working with multidisciplinary teams of clinicians, scientists and engineers to help children grow healthy and happy. He is Principal Investigator in the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children's National Health System in Washington, DC, where he founded and directs the Precision Medical Imaging Group. Dr. Linguraru is also Professor of Radiology and Pediatrics and Secondary Professor of Biomedical Engineering at George Washington University. He co-founded PediaMetrix LLC, a company focused on infant well-being by creating solutions to improve the management of conditions of early childhood. He joined the Sheikh Zayed Institute from the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, where he maintains an appointment as Associate Investigator. He completed his doctorate at the University of Oxford and holds masters degrees in science and in arts from the University of Sibiu. He held fellowships at the French National Institute of Research in Computer Science and at Harvard University. 
Dr. Linguraru is the recipient of numerous awards, including a prize for Excellence in Engineering by a Younger Engineer at the Houses of Parliament in London, UK. He is a member of the Technical Directors Board Committee of the IEEE Signal Processing Society, Vice-Chair of the Technical Committee on Biomedical Imaging and Image Processing of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society and served as Distinguished Lecturer of the society. He is the General Chair of the IEEE International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging 2019 in Venice, Italy.

Georgi CHALTIKYAN, Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Germany

Digital Health Revolution: Has the Future of Medicine Arrived Yet?

Georgi Chaltikyan, MD, PhD is professor of Digital Health, eHealth, Telemedicine and [Cross-Border] Healthcare Management, and coordinator of the study program Master of Medical Informatics (MMI) at European Campus Rottal-Inn, a branch of Deggendorf University of Applied Science (Deggendorf Institute of Technology, DIT) in Bavaria, Germany, and president of Armenian Association of Telemedicine (AATM). Georgi Chaltikyan is a graduate of Yerevan State Medical University in Armenia. He has been trained as general surgeon and spent about 15 years in clinical practice in general and laparoscopic surgery. He has extensive experience in healthcare education, research and management; in 2001-2009 he has served as associate professor at the Department of Surgery of Yerevan State Medical University, and has taught medicine and surgery to undergraduate and postgraduate students. He has nearly 10 years of work experience in the field of Healthcare Information and Communication Technologies. As the founding president of a non-governmental organization Armenian Association of Telemedicine (the national member of the International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth and the European Federation for Medical Informatics, and an international partner of the American Telemedicine Association) he has been instrumental in design and implementation of a number of successful eHealth and telemedicine projects with international participation. Prof. Chaltikyan joined the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences of Deggendorf University in 2015; he is the coordinator of the master’s program in Medical Informatics, and is responsible for several other study courses in the healthcare domain. He has publications on different aspects of eHealth and telemedicine, and is involved in several research projects in digital health.

Andreas VOSS, Ernst-Abbe-Hochschule (EAH), Jena, Germany

Assessment of Central-Cardiorespiratory Network Pathways

Andreas Voss (Male) is since 1997 Full Professor in Biosignal Processing and Medical Informatics at the Ernst-Abbe-Hochschule (EAH) in Jena, Germany. Before that, he worked as leader of the Biosignal Processing research group at the Max-Delbrueck-Centre for Molecular Medicine in Berlin. In 2015, he founded the Institute of Innovative Health Technologies IGHT at the EAH where he acts up to now as the director and coordinates the research between five different departments. His research interest are linear and non-linear analysis of multivariate and multiscale data and systems analysis (e.g. risk stratification in different diseases), characterizing autonomic regulation (heart diseases, schizophrenia, depression, stress...), time-frequency analyses, knowledge based interpretation of physiological and pathophysiological regulations, and electronic senses (electronic nose). Prof. Voss (h-index 37, RG score 43.52) published more than 300 papers in peer reviewed journals. He is member of scientific societies (DGBMT, European Society of Cardiology, and IEEE), organizer, co-organizer and associated editor of various national and international conferences as well as member of scientific boards of various other academic events and scientific journals. He acts as reviewer and for many international journals, conferences and grant agencies.

New Approaches in Respiratory Care

Moderators: Assoc. prof. Martin Rozanek, Ph.D. and Petr Kudrna, Ph.D

About workshop:
Despite a long term research in mechanical ventilation there is a still lot to improve. Technological advances in design of ventilators, development of new ventilatory techniques as well as monitoring of ventilation parameters or monitoring of patient biosignals contribute to an improved safety of the patients. The workshop deals with novel methods and approaches that could be used in the clinical practice to minimize the adverse effects of mechanical ventilation and also to increase a patient benefit from mechanical ventilation.

Workshop will be focused on measurement of biosignals in mechanical ventilation, modeling and simulation in respiratory care, controlling of ventilator parameters according to the end-tidal carbon dioxide concentration or saturation of blood by oxygen etc. Some of the topics are NIRS (near infrared spectroscopy) and EIT (electrical impedance tomography).

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Organizers:

• Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Biomedical Technology

New advances in motor-recovery neurotechnology by means of Brain-Computer Interfaces, Functional Electrical Stimulation and Exoskeletons to support the upper limb rehabilitation in stroke patients

Moderators: Prof. Marian POBORONIUC, Ph.D. and Dănut IRIMIA, Ph.D.

About workshop:
The latest researches in stroke patient’s rehabilitation techniques argue that repeated movement of the affected upper limb offer the chance to regain its usefulness. Assisting robotics allows patients to perform repeated movements. Such movements can stimulate the brain to regain the upper limb control and the phenomenon has been termed as neuroplasticity.
Functional electrical stimulation (FES) can be used to artificially induce the muscle contraction of innervated muscles, and in combination with upper limb exoskeletons and glove may contribute to a better rehabilitation process of the stroke patient’s upper limbs. Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) has the potential to restore the body motor functions and it has been recommended as interventional procedure in many countries (i.e. NICE-IPG278, UK). Assisting robotics allows patients to perform repeated movements in a well-controlled manner, while the FES-based activation of the muscles helps the brain to relearn the day life movements.
Brain-computer interface (BCI) is a new technology with a potential to restore, substitute, or augment lost motor behaviors in patients with neurological injuries. Just imagine that a patient may control a neuroprosthesis by his/her own thoughts.

The workshop deals with new proposed systems (EXOSLIM, IHRG) consisting in a mechanical structure of exoskeleton type, anthropometrically dimensioned, aiming to ensure the basic anatomical movements in stroke patient’s upper limb and hand, as well as muscle control by means of functional electrical stimulation (FES). Instead of using the traditional surface electrodes some electroconductive yarns which can be easily and effectively integrated into textile structures may provide the electrical stimulation over the muscles (patent request no. A/00673/21.09.2015). Motor Imagery based BCIs can induce neural plasticity and thus serve as an important tool to enhance motor rehabilitation for stroke patients. A new system that integrates BCI and FES techniques aiming to improve motor rehabilitation for stroke patients will be presented too, as well as wireless BCI systems.

The present research is supported by PCCA 180/2012, PCCA 150/2012 and PCCA 267/2014 grants of the Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding (UEFISCDI), as well as international cooperation with the Austrian GTEC company.

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Organizers:

• “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Iasi, Romania

Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering

Moderators: Ciprian-Marius LARCO and Radu-Călin PAHONIE

About workshop:
The goal of the workshop is to establish a collaborative interdisciplinary research environment, by using the appropriate set of mechanical, aerospace and bio-sciences engineering knowledge in addressing problems in broad areas. Gathering specialists from all these fields of interest will result in future innovative research and cross-border studies with real impact on everyday life.

The current technological challenges of the space industry, as well as the international ESA program, bring the need for innovative research programs, requiring highly qualified experts and a broad interdisciplinary vision. The development of these technologies is possible only through intense collaboration between the technological sectors corresponding to the exact and biomedical sciences, with a broad view into new fundamental research problems that arise with every little discovery made in the aerospace field. We align with the current global trend of bringing valuable contributions, through research towards sustaining and improving life in space.

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Organizers:

• Larco Ciprian-Marius
  Lecturer/ Director of Integrated Aviation Systems and Mechanics Department
  Faculty of Aircraft and Military Vehicles Military
  Technical Academy “Ferdinand I”
  
  
• Pahonie Radu-Călin
  Researcher of the Integrated Aviation Systems and Mechanics Department
  Faculty of Aircraft and Military Vehicles
  Technical Academy “Ferdinand I”
  

Assistive technologies for people with disabilities

Moderators: Prof. R. BOZOMITU, PhD, and Assoc. Prof. C. ROTARIU, PhD

About workshop:
Nowadays assistive technology includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative products and services that are used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with many types of disabilities, from cognitive problems to physical impairments. Assistive technology promotes greater independence by enabling people with disabilities to perform tasks that they were formerly unable to accomplish, or had great difficulty accomplishing, by providing devices, or changing methods of interacting with the technology needed to accomplish such tasks. In this context the aim of the session is to present and discuss the advances in the research and development of assistive devices and to offer opportunities to the researchers, scientists, and engineers to change ideas, to share knowledge and experience in the field of assistive technology. The session welcomes papers addressing the following areas (but not limited): Augmentative and alternative communication, Assistive technology for visual impairment, Personal emergency response systems, Mobility impairment and wheelchairs, Assistive technology in sport, Assistive technology in education. 

Organizers:

• Gh. Asachi Technical University, Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Iasi, Romania
• Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Medical Bioengineering, Iasi, Romania

Medicine and Informatics

Moderators:

Prof. Marcel COSTULEANU, MD, PhD
Prof. Ioana ALEXA, MD, PhD
Assoc. Prof. Georgeta ZEGAN, MD, PhD
Assoc. Prof. Mihaela MOSCALU, PhD
Lecturer Adina Carmen ILIE, MD, PhD

About workshop:
Medical informatics deals with the use of IT&C technologies in health care and represents the interdisciplinary study of the design, development, adoption and application of IT-based innovations in health care services delivery, management and planning. This multidisciplinary field utilizes health information technology to improve health care through a mix of higher quality, higher efficiency (stimulating lower cost and consequently wider availability). Its resources, devices, and methods are involved in optimizing the acquisition, storage, retrieval, and use of information in health and biomedicine. Health informatics tools consist mainly in computers, formal medical terminologies, clinical guidelines, and information and communication systems.
Clinical care, dentistry, pharmacy, public health, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, (bio)medical research, and alternative medicine are the main fields of application.

Organizers:

• Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, Iasi, Romania