Precision Medicine emphasis at SPIE Medical Imaging 2016

SPIE Medical Imaging plenary talks are among well-attended events during the conference; above, the 2015 plenary session.

BELLINGHAM, Washington, USA, and CARDIFF, UK -- The emerging disease treatment and prevention approach of Precision Medicine will be the topic of a new multidisciplinary track at SPIE Medical Imaging in 2016. Sponsored by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, SPIE Medical Imaging includes nine technical conferences, a professional development course program, workshops, and several networking events.

Dates are 27 February through 3 March at the Town and Country Resort Convention Center in San Diego, California.

Advances in Precision Medicine save lives and improve outcomes by enabling faster and more accurate diagnosis for diseases such as cancer, lung disease, coronary artery calcifications and other health issues, notes the White House website on the Precision Medicine Initiative. The emerging approach for disease treatment and prevention takes into account individual variability in genes, environment, and lifestyle for each patient.

Nearly 70 papers on Precision Medicine will be presented during the symposium, among a total of more than 1,050, in conferences on:

Physics of Medical Imaging
Image Processing
Computer-Aided Diagnosis
Image-Guided Procedures, Robotic Interventions, and Modeling
Image Perception, Observer Performance, and Technology Assessment
Biomedical Applications in Molecular, Structural, and Functional Imaging
PACS and Imaging Informatics: Next Generation and Innovations
Ultrasonic Imaging and Tomography
Digital Pathology.

Other highlights are:

A plenary talk by Edward Jackson, professor and Chair of Medical Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, on the evolution of medical imaging, from qualitative to quantitative approaches
Keynote talks by leading researchers in each conference topical area
Fundamental and advanced courses that meet continuing education requirements
Workshops on information management in the operating room, interventional procedures, miniaturizing surgical robotics, image synthesis, U.S. National Institutes of Health funding opportunities, and validating image-perception models
A live demonstration session for system and algorithm developers
Networking poster sessions and luncheons.

A panel discussion will provide a forum for discussion of ideas about current imaging challenges in the era of Precision Medicine that are worthy topics for a future Computer-Assisted Diagnosis Grand Challenge. The competition would be similar to the LUNGx Challenge held during SPIE Medical Imaging 2015.

Symposium chairs are Steven Horii of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Berkman Sahiner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Accepted conference proceedings papers will be published in the SPIE Digital Library as soon as approved after the meeting, and in print volumes.

Registration, hotel, and other information is at www.spie.org/medical-imaging.

About SPIE

SPIE is the international society for optics and photonics, an educational not-for-profit organization founded in 1955 to advance light-based science and technology. The Society serves nearly 264,000 constituents from approximately 166 countries, offering conferences and their published proceedings, continuing education, books, journals, and the SPIE Digital Library, in support of interdisciplinary information exchange, professional networking, and patent precedent. In 2015, SPIE provided more than $5.2 million in support of education and outreach programs. SPIE is a Founding Partner of the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies.

Contact:

Amy Nelson
Public Relations Manager
amy@spie.org
+1 360 685 5478
@SPIEtweets