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The First International Conference= on the Development of Biomedical Engineering in Vietnam=

July 27-29, 2005 at Ho Chi = Minh University of Technology, Vietnam

A report submitted to the National= Science Foundation by Professor Vo Van Toi, Biomedical Engineering Department, T= ufts University, August = 23, 2005

ABSTRACT

The First International Conference= on the Development of Biomedical Engineering in Vietnam was organized at the Ho Chi Minh University of Techn= ology from July 27 to July 29, 2005. The theme of the conference was the developm= ent of research, education and entrepreneurship in Biomedical Engineering. The conference drew more than 200 participants, consisting of researchers, educators, students and people from the private sector. During the two and a half days of the conference there = were more than 60 oral and poster presentations by authors from Vietnam, the Uni= ted States, France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Belgium, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Australia, China and Thailand in both the academic and private sectors. A r= ound table discussion focused on the effective ways to enhance the activities of this field in Vietna= m. A Consortium of Vietnamese and International Universities was cr= eated. It plays the role of an advisory board to the Vietnamese universities and w= ill assist them in the development of Biomedical Engineering. A Vietnamese Association of Biomedical Engineering was also created. It consists of Viet= namese researchers, educators, people in private sector= and students who are interested in Biomedical Engineering activities. The Second International Conference on the Development of Biomedical Engineering in Vietnam will be organized in Hanoi in August 2006.=

BACKGROUND

In January 2004, under the sponsorship of the U.S. National Science Foundation= , a U.S. delegation that consisted of Biomedic= al Engineering professors from different universities in the United States, visited several universitie= s and research institutions in Vietnam to assess the development of this field. The delegation enthusiastically recommended that the U.S. and international scientific communities actively develop collaborations wi= th Vietnam= . Following the delegation’s recommendations and its proposed five year plan, we organized this conference.

GOAL

The goal of this Conference was threefold: =

1. To give Vietnamese educators, students, researcher= s, administrators and policy makers the opportunity to learn about the related works and models in the U.S. and elsewhere, and to present their accomplishments

2. To give international scholars the opportunity to learn of Biomedical Engineering activities in Vietnam for future collaborations; and to give US professional institutions (IEEE, AIMBE) the = opportunity to explore the possibility of establishing BME chapters in Vietnam.

3. To develop the relationship between internationa= l and local industry, and to motivate further development of BME in Vietnam= .

ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE

General Chair: Professor Vo Van Toi, BME Department at Tufts University

Co-Chair: Professor Nguyen Thanh Son, Vice President of Ho Chi Minh University of Techn= ology (HCMUT).

General Secretary: Professor Huynh Quang Linh, Chair of Biom= edical Engineering Department of HCMUT, general secretary of the Conference.<= /o:p>

SPONSORSHIP

National Science Foundation, US

Vietnam Education Foundation, US

Vietnam National University at Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam

National Center of Laser Technology, <= st1:country-region w:st=3D"on">Vietnam

TOPICS

Vietnam will excel in Biomedical Engineering if both ac= ademia and industry develop at the same time and work together. Therefore, the the= me of this conference is the development of Biomedical Engineering in Research, Education and Entrepreneurship. This conference intended to highlight the latest progress in research, education and entrepreneurship in biomedical engineering throughout the world. The topics included:

1.    Scientific research: Medical Imaging, Regenerative Medicine, Medical Instrumentations, Healthcare Information Technology, Biomedical Ethics, Rehabilitation Engineering, Surgical Technology, Complementary and Alternat= ive Medicine.

2.    Education models: Undergraduate and Graduate Curriculum Developme= nt (Infrastructure, Difficulties Encountered, Advantages and Disadvantages, Co= sts of Developments), Relationship University-Hospital-Industry

3.    Entrepreneurship: Legal Regulations (FDA); Technology Transfer Mechanisms: (SBIR, STTR), Government Research Funding institutions (NSF, NI= H), Private Research Funding institutions, Venture capitalism, Professional Soc= ieties: IEEE, AIMBE.

4.    Models for Vietn= am: suggested solutions for Vietnam.

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FORMAT

The first day was devoted to the educational models applied at and the experien= ces encountered in different institutions in the US. The second day was devote= d to research achievements in different fields of BME. The third half day was devoted to round table discussions where participants suggested specific solutions for Vietna= m.

This format gave Vietnam<= /st1:place> the components needed to establish its own roadmap about which fields to develop, what needs to be done, how to do it, what outcomes can be expected= and how to measure impacts.

ACHIEVEMENTS

1.    The conference drew more than 200 participants: Vietnamese and international students, educators, researchers and industrial managers

2.    There were 29 oral presentations and 34 poster presentations by authors from Vietnam, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Belgium, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Australia, China and Thai= land from both academic and private sectors

3.    A Consortium of Vietnam-International Universiti= es was created. It plays the role of an advisory board to the Vietnamese universit= ies and will assist them in the development of Biomedical Engineering. It will = also be a magnet to attract Vietnamese descendants that are abroad

4.    A Vietnamese Association of Biomedical Engineeri= ng was created. It consists of Vietnamese researchers, educators, people in private sector and students who are interested in Biomedical Engineering activities. It will constitute a task force for the development of Biomedic= al Engineering in Vietn= am

5.    The conference received good local and national = press

6.    The post-conference website is: http://www.cs.tufts.edu/~van= vo/VN/BME

7.    The Second International Conference on the Devel= opment of Biomedical Engineering in Vietnam will be organized in Hanoi in January 2007.

US PARTICIPANTS (in alphabetical order)

1.    Tom DeMarse (Professor, University of Flori= da)

2.    Semahat Demir (Program Dire= ctor, NSF and Professor, Univer= sity of Memphis)

3.    An Dinh, (G= raduate student, Tufts University)

4.    William Dit= to (Chair of BME, University= of Florida)

5.    Tim Duong (Professor, Emory University)

6.    Sergio Fant= ini (Interim Associate Dean of College of Engineering, Tufts University)

7.    Don Giddens (Dean, College of Engineering, Georgia Instit= ute of Technology Lawrence L. Gellerstedt, Jr., Chair = in Bioengineering, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar)

8.    David Kapla= n (Chair of BME, Tufts University)

9.    Mailen Kootsey (Professor,= Loma Linda University)

10.          &n= bsp;            Matthew Loeb (Director, IEEE)

11.          &n= bsp;            Alan Macy (= BIOPAC Systems, Inc., Santa Barbara)

12.          &n= bsp;            Renata Mattson (TOI Inc., Massachusetts)

13.          &n= bsp;            Trang Nguyen (Graduate student, Tufts University)

14.          &n= bsp;            Anh Nguyen(Graduate student, = Tufts University)

15.          &n= bsp;            Thang Nguyen (Graduate student, University of Texas= Houston)

16.          &n= bsp;            Cecil Perrault (Graduate student, University of Flori= da)

17.          &n= bsp;            Sheryl Prucka (Prucka Engineerin= g, Inc.)

18.          &n= bsp;            Matthew Prucka (Prucka Engineerin= g, Inc.)

19.          &n= bsp;            Jianguo Sun (Vitalog Inc.)<= o:p>

20.          &n= bsp;            Roger Tran = Son Tay (Professor, University of Florida)

21.          &n= bsp;            Van Toi Vo (Professor, Tufts University)

22.          &n= bsp;            Bruce Wheel= er (Interim Chair of BME, Univ. of = Illinois, Urbana Champaign)

23.          &n= bsp;            Leslie Wins= ton (independent)

24.          &n= bsp;            Arthur Wins= ton (President of IEEE, Tufts= University)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This project was sponsored by the National Science Foundation (INT-0243803), the= Vietnam Education Fo= undation, US, the Vietnam National University at Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam and the National Cent= er of Laser Technology, Vietnam. We would like to express our thanks to the Vietnamese and American authorities and the staff of the BME departments at= Tufts University and Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology f= or their assistance.

CONTACT PERSON

Professor Vo Van Toi<= o:p>

Tuf= ts University

Biomedical Engineering Department

<= st1:address w:st=3D"on">4 C= olby Street

Med= ford, MA 02155, USA

Tel: (617) 627 5191

Fax: (617) 627 3231

Email: van.v= o@tufts.edu

Web: www.t= ufts.edu/~vvo