The purpose of this series of volumes is to present a comprehensive view of the complications that result from the use of acceptable diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Individual volumes will deal with iatrogenic complications involving (1) the alimentary system, (2) the urinary system, (3) the respiratory and cardiac systems, (4) the skeletal system and (5) the pediatric patient. The term iatrogenic, derived from two Greek words, means physician-induced. Originally, it applied only to psychiatric disorders generated in the patient by autosuggestion, based on misinterpretation of the doctor's attitude and com ments. As clinically used, it now pertains to the inadvertent side-effects and com plications created in the course of diagnosis and treatment. The classic categories of disease have included: (1) congenital and developmental, (2) traumatic, (3) infectious and inflammatory, (4) metabolic, (5) neoplastic, and (6) degenerative. To these must be added, however, iatrogenic disorders-a major, although gen erally unacknowledged, source of illness. While great advances in medical care in both diagnosis and therapy have been accomplished in the past few decades, many are at times associated with certain side-effects and risks which may result in distress equal to or greater than the basic condition. Iatrogenic complications, which may be referred to as "diseases of medical progress," have become a new dimension in the causation of human disease."

The symposium on Angiography/Scintigraphy brought to Mainz in the fall of 1970 not only many European colleagues with an interest in these techniques, but also a number of visitors from overseas. These busy, work-filled days are beginning to fade in the memory of those who were there. Nevertheless, the scientific results reported on that occasion still supply the guidelines for what is currently being done in radiology and nuclear medicine. Anyone who has kept abreast of the literature over the past few years will have noted with some surprise how comparisons of the results obtained with these two important diagnostic aids continue to provoke controversy. One thing is certain: the emblem chosen for the Mainz symposium could hardly have been more appropriate. Like two cogwheels meshing in some complex piece of machinery, these radiological procedures demand the highest level of skill and precision before they will function properly on engaging so as to produce optimal results. Their findings complement each other in almost ideal fashion. Even though development in these two diagnostic disciplines has not exactly stood still since 1970, the papers given at this symposium established the fundamentals from which have stemmed many an intelligent adaptation of a method, many a cunning modification of an instrument and, not least, many a new research lead. This is why we applaud the initiative of Professor Diethelm of Mainz, whose brainchild this symposium was, in making the proceedings available to a wider audience.

The NATO Advanced Study Institute (ASI) on Physics and Engineering of Medical Imaging has addressed a subject which in the wide area of biomedical technology is one of those which are showing greater impact in the practice of medicine for the ability to picture both Anatomy and Physiology. The information and accuracy obtained by whatever imaging methodology is a complex result of a multidisciplinary effort of several sciences such as Physics, Engineering, Electronics, Chemistry, Medicine, etc ... Development has occurred through work performed in different environments such as basic and applied research laboratories, industries and clinical centers, with the aim of achieving an efficient transfer of know-how and technology for the improvement of both investigation possibilities and health care. On one hand, such an effort requires an ever-increasing committment of human and financial resources at research and industrial level, and, on the other, it meets serious difficulties in recruiting the necessary human expertise oriented to this technology which breaks with the tradi tiona I academic borders of the single disciplines. Furthermore, the scientific community is continually dealing with the problem of increasing the performance and, at the same time, complexity and costs of instruments, applying more and more sophisticated technology in an effort to meet the demand for more complete and accurate clinical information. The scientific program of this ASI and the qualification of the authors reveals the intrinsic complexity of the development process of the Imaging methodologies.

The decision of Harvey Cushing to leave general surgery and concentrate on the infant field of central nervous system surgery was in retrospect a landmark in the history of neurosurgery. His concentrated work, and also that of his colleague Walter Dandy, originated with the desires of both pioneers to understand surgical anatomy and neurophysiology. The fundamental knowledge and surgical techni ques that they provided became the standard of excellence for several generations of neurosurgeons; so much so that the general belief was that the surgical techniques could not be improved upon. Twenty-five to thirty years ago microtechniques began to appear in a few surgical research centers, they were then gradually applied to clinical neurosurgery and have contributed to a new level of understanding in surgical anatomy and neurophysiology. We are now fortunate to have a new standard of morbidity and mortality in the surgical treatment of intrathecal aneurysms, angiomas, and tumors. It has been said that microneurosurgery was reaching its limits, especially when treating lesions in and around the cavernous sinus and skull base; those lesions notorious for involvement of the dural and extradural compartments, with a tendency to infiltrate adjacent nerves and blood vessels. The dangers of uncontrollable hemorrhage from the basal sinuses and post-operative CSF rhinorrhea appeared unsurmountable. The lateral aspects of the petro-clival region have been of interest to a few pioneering ENT surgeons and neurosurgeons but the cavernous sinus in most respects has remained the final unconquered summit."

The esophagus, ostensibly a simple tubular structure whose functional role often is minimized and even ignored, is, in re- ality, a highly complex viscus. The problems associated with disorders of the esophagus are not only related to the usual en- tities which may be anticipated in any portion of the gastroin- testinal tract, but include in a major fashion the functional mechanisms indigenous to the pharyngoesophageal and eso- phagogastric junctions. A number of disorders, representative of the classical cate- gories of disease, affect the esophagus. These include the various congenital and developmental abnormalities, of which some are complex. Trauma to the esophagus is not un- common, and infective and inflammatory lesions of this struc- ture are encountered relatively frequently. The different types of neoplasms of the esophagus are relatively few in number, but are commonly observed-the most serious, from the point of view of survival, being carcinoma. The collagen disorders, particularly scleroderma and dermatomyositis, affect the eso- phagus all too often. A miscellaneous group includes such en- tities as achalasia and varices, occurring in varying degrees of frequency. Functional abnormalities of the oropharynx, hypo- pharynx and esophagus, particularly relating to swallowing and the frequently encountered instances of spasm of the pharyngoesophageal and the esophagogastric junctions, consti- tute an important and common source of difficulty in the pa- tient population at large. In this regard, anatomic, radiologic, and physiologic studies of these structures have provided through the years vital data which has proved of considerable VII ...

Trauma to the abdomen, both accidental and willful, has become increasingly common in this era of increasing violence. Large numbers of patients all over the country are admitted to emergency rooms because of abdominal trauma of varying degrees of severity. All too often the correct diagnosis is suspected belatedly or not at all, so that proper treatment is not initiated in sufficient time to be lifesaving. Not infre quently, the injured patient is examined by an intern or an insufficiently experienced resident physician. Even in instances where more senior internists and surgeons are available, detailed knowledge about the necessary methodology to establish the correct diagnosis and institute the appropriate treatment is lacking. This monograph, representing the felicitous collaboration of a surgeon and a radiolo gist together with several other contributors, is timely and important. The authors (and their contributors) have approached their subject with a wealth of clinical experi ence obtained in several very active acute-care municipal hospitals in the largest city in this country. They have observed and treated a very large number of patients with a multitude of traumatic causes, including firearm injuries, stab wounds, vehicular accidents, falls, and assaults. The authors have divided this work into four main sections: General Perspectives on Abdominal Injury, Types of Abdominal Injuries, Specific Diagnostic Techniques, and Specific Organ or Supporting-Structure Injury."

Cardiac ultrasound has rapidly developed into one of the most important clinical methods for diagnosis and follow-up of patients with heart disease and has changed the practice of cardiology permanently. In addition to improving image quality, most of the progress relies on digital image acquisition, storage, and quantitative analysis equipment. Automatic endocardial detection and three- dimensional reconstruction are now being developed. The progress with contrast echocardiography for myocardial perfusion imaging and results with tissue characterization is slow, but ever increasing, illustrating that the full potential of the method has not yet been explored. All of these digital techniques are extensively dealt with in this volume. Computerized tools will help the clinical cardiologists in their daily practice and stimulate further development to gen- uinely improve patient care in the coming years. We wish to thank the authors to this volume for their excellent contribution and Mrs. T. van der Kolk for secretarial assistance. IX Contributors F. J. ten Cate Thorax Center, Erasmus University, P. O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands R. Erbel II Medical Clinic, Johannes Gutenberg University, Langenbeckstr. 1, P. O. Box 3960, D-6500 Mainz, FRG Co-authors: R. Zotz, B. Henkel, G. Schreiner, C. Steuernagel, R. Zahn, H. Kopp, W. Clas, R. Brennecke, P. Schweizer, J. Meyer S. B. Feinstein Division of Cardiology, Box 44, University of Chicago, 950 East 59th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA D. G. Gibson Department of Cardiology, Brompton Hospital, Fulham Road, London SW3 6HP, UK Co-author: R. B. Logan Sinclair E.

As an addition to the European postgraduate training system for young neurosurgeons we began to publish in 1974 this series devoted to Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery which was later sponsored by the Euro pean Association of Neurosurgical Societies. The fact that the English language is well on the way to becoming the international medium at European scientific conferences is a great asset in terms of mutual understanding. Therefore we have decided to publish all contributions in English, regardless of the native language of the authors. All contributions are submitted to the entire editorial board before publication of any volume. Our series is not intended to compete with the publications of original scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions are written by specialists in the given fields and constitute the first part of each volume. In the second part of each volume, we publish detailed descriptions of standard operative procedures, furnished by experienced clinicians; in these articles the authors describe the techniques they employ and explain the advantages, difficulties and risks involved in the various procedures. This part is intended primarily to assist young neurosurgeons in their postgraduate training. However, we are convinced that it will also be useful to experienced, fully trained neurosurgeons."

In the last few years ways of thinking in psychiatry have undergone considerable change thanks to advances in the fields of morphology and plasticity of the CNS, particularly with regard to schizophrenic and mood disorders. In addition, the rapid and considerable development of neuroimaging techniques (CT, MRI, PET and computerized EEG) and of molecular genetics (through DNA recombinant meth odologies) have widened the approach to these disorders in a way unimagined a few years ago. These advances and the new etiopathogenetic hypotheses that have sprung from them were the central theme of the Second International Meeting on Schizophre nia "Morphology and Plasticity of the Central Nervous System - A Challenge for Psychiatry of the Nineties" which was organized by the Association for Research on Schizophrenia (ARS), the Schizophrenia Research Center of the Institute of Psychiatry of the University of Milan and the T. and F. Legrenzi Foundation, held in Milan on October 22-24, 1987. This book contains the contributions from participants of the meeting, which took place in a warm and friendly atmosphere and marked by lively and exhaustive discussions on the various papers. The contributions were recently revised for the present publication. We would like to express our appreciation to the book's contributors for the high quality of their reports."

The rapid growth of fibre-optic endoscopy in recent than 7,500 examinations has been accumulated. years has had two consequences for the radiology of In part I of this study the theoretical background the stomach and the duocienum. and the technique of examination proper are de- scribed. The basic principles of interpretation of DC 1. Radiology has lost its previously rather auton- studies are stated. omous position in this field. Part II deals with the results. Chapter 5 consists of 2. As a result of the constant feed-back from the general remarks on the results, and on the comple- endoscopist, which the radiologist can and should mentary role of radiological examination and endos- have, he is in an excellent position to re-evaluate copy. Chapter 6 deals with a quantative study of and improve his own technique of examination. standard biphasic-contrast examinations in patients The author believes that the radiological exam- over a period of 3 years. This study was restricted to ination retains its value as a screening technique and malignant lesions, because it is only in this group a complementary method to gastroscopy and biop- that the definite criterion, a histological diagnosis, is sy. Only a sophisticated radiological technique will obtained. The natural history of malignant lesions fulfil these requirements. In 1973 the author devel- also makes follow-up studies possible. Results of the oped a standard examination that was called "bi- diagnosis of Early Gastric Cancer (EGC) are phasic", because it combines the advantages of included.

As an addition to the European postgraduate training system for young neurosurgeons we began to publish in 1974 this series of Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery which was later sponsored by the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies. This series was first discussed in 1972 at a combined meeting of the Italian and German Neurosurgical Societies in Taormina, the founding fathers of the series being Jean Brihaye, Bernard Pertuiset, Fritz Loew and Hugo Krayenbiihl. Thus were established the principles of European co operation which have been born from the European spirit, flourished in the European Association, and have throughout been associated with this series. The fact that the English language is well on the way to becoming the international medium at European scientific conferences is a great asset in terms of mutual understanding. Therefore we have decided to publish all contributions in English, regardless of the native language of the authors. All contributions are submitted to the entire editorial board before publication of any volume. Our series is not intended to compete with the publications of original scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions are written by spe cialists in the given fields and constitute the first part of each volume."

The advances in neuroimaging are occurring at a we wish to accomplish by bringing out a series of dizzying pace. It is difficult for trainees in radiology volumes, each dealing with a single theme. The first and others in neurosciences-related disciplines to one is in your hands. keep abreast of the new developments. It is especially We wish to express our deepest gratitude to the important to design neuroimaging protocols to distinguished contributors, who have done an out evaluate various neurological diseases. It therefore standing job. We equally thank our publisher. seems highly desirable that review articles be readily Comments are welcome. available that comb through the plethora of literature and provide state-of-the-art information on neuro MS imaging of neurological diseases. It is this goal that SB Xl IMAGING OF NON-TRAUMATIC ISCHEMIC AND HEMORRHAGIC DISORDERS OF THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM 1. MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING OF INTRACRANIAL HEMORRHAGE Robert D. Zimmerman Historical Background is inferior scanners with MR units. If, however, MR The advent of magnetic resonance imaging led to to CT in the detection of hemorrhage, hospitals attempts to define the appearance of hemorrhage would still be required to maintain CT scanners, using this new technique. Early reports focused on since the demonstration of hemorrhage is of para hematomas studied with T1-weighted (Tl W) inver mount diagnostic and therapeutic importance in a sion recovery (IR) Scans performed on resistive MR patient with acute neurologic ictus. imagers."

As an addition to the European postgraduate training system for young neurosurgeons we began to publish in 1974 this series devoted to Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery which was later sponsored by the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies. The fact that the English language is well on the way to becoming the international medium at European scientific conferences is a great asset in terms of mutual understanding. Therefore we have decided to publish all contributions in English, regardless of the native language of the authors. All contributions are submitted to the entire editorial board before publication of any volume. Our series is not intended to compete with the publications of original scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions are written by specialists in the given fields and constitute the first part of each volume. In the second part of each volume, we publish detailed descriptions of standard operative procedures, furnished by experienced clinicians; in these articles the authors describe the techniques they employ and explain the advantages, difficulties and risks involved in the various procedures. This part is intended primarily to assist young neurosurgeons in their post graduate training. However, we are convinced that it will also be useful to experienced, fully trained neurosurgeons."

Dr. Dobranowski and his associates are to be highly commended for this excellent manual. I am not aware of a similar text covering the subject. Although all of us perform gastrointestinal studies in a differ ent manner, this text provides an excellent overview. The reader will discover that the text is especially well written and focuses on the important issues relating to GI contrast studies. Because Dr. Steven son's group performs endoscopic procedures, they are included in the manual. These authors are recognized scholars and leaders in gastrointesti nal radiology. Thus, it is easy to understand why the manual is so well done. I am particularly impressed with the emphasis placed on the patient-radiologist relationship before, during, and after completion of a study. All of us who teach gastrointestinal radiology are concerned about the decline in the number of gastrointestinal contrast studies. We are not sure how we can continue to teach our residents the proper tech niques and maintain high-quality teaching programs in gastrointesti nal radiology. A manual of this type is thus timely and appropriate. The manual will be a valuable addition to the library of all radiologists. It will be particularly useful for residents who are learning how to per form GI contrast studies."

Posttraumatic cerebral contusions, lacerations and hematomas in the past could often only be suspected by clinical symptomatology and be visualized by angiography in a restricted manner, but they are now diag nosed with precision through CT and MRI; they remain in the limelight in our daily management of severe head injuries. Stalhammar's longlasting research in biomechanics is he re condensed in a concise review of the current knowledge in this field, thus providing the basis for our understanding of the parenchymal cerebral posttraumatic lesions. The neuropathological investigations and findings remain fundamental to the clinical features, and in this text there is the advantage that they were carried out and interpreted by a very experienced neurasurgeon, Ion Oprescu, who most regretfully died before the completion of this volume. The special morphological and clinical investigations by Nakamura, concerning diffuse brain injury, contribute to our necessary diagnosis and treatment of this phenomenon where, without grass visible lesions of cerebral tissue, a high mortality occurs. The clinical features, the princip1es of therapy and the outcome are described by Vigouroux and Guillermain, whose clinical study clearly demonstrates the limitations of all our efforts in severe brain injuries, in spite of decades of clinical experience and research."

The field of Very High Frequency EPR (VHF EPR) or sometimes called Very High Field EPR (conveniently, also abbreviated as VHF EPR) has blossomed during the past decade, especially after the original pioneering work of Ya. S. Lebedev and his group at the Institute of Chemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. Although Lebedev suffered heavily under the economic constraints of the communist Soviet Union and then succumbed to cancer at the peak of his scientific career, his groundbreaking work from the 1970's is still considered today to be the 'gold standard' by researchers practicing EPR at high magnetic fields. A stimulus for the production of this book is the legacy of Yakov Levedev in his students now residing in academic positions in the US and elsewhere. The aim of this book is to highlight the state of this growing field. This is an attempt to cover the full scope of VHF EPR in a single volume. The idea for this volume came to the editors at the 2001 Rocky Mountain Analytical Conference during the 24th International EPR Symposium chaired by Sandra and Gareth Eaton. VHF EPR was presented as an independent research field at a workshop organized by LC BruneI and supported by the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, a National Science Foundation funded facility at Florida State University.

The NATO Advanced Study Institute "Biomedical Optical Instrumentation and Laser Assisted Biotechnology" was held November 10-22, 1995 in Erice, Sicily. This was the 19 th conference organized by the International School of Quantum Electronics, under the auspices of the "Ettore Majorana" Center for Scientific Culture. The contributions presented at the Institute are written as extended, review-like papers to provide a broad and representative coverage of the fields of laser techniques, optoelectronics systems for medical diagnosis, and light and laser applications to Biology and Medicine. The aim of the Institute was to bring together some of the world's acknowledged scientists and clinicians that belong to different disciplines and consequently do not usually meet, but who have as a common link the use of optoelectronics instrumentation, techniques and procedures. Most of the lecturers attended all the lectures and devoted their spare hours to stimulating discussions. We would like to thank them all for their admirable contributions. The Institute also took advantage of a very active audience; most of the participants were active researchers in the field and contributed with discussions and seminars. Some of these seminars are also included in these Proceedings. The Institute was an important opportunity to discuss latest developments and emerging perspectives on the use of laser sources and optoelectronic techniques for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

It is common knowledge that a clinical diagnosis is based on a combination of symptoms and signs, observed in their evolution. Advancing the diagnosis at an early stage and particularly in the neurosurgical clinical examination would enhance the slightest possibility of recovery, theoretically almost transforming it into a concrete possibility. This book has a precise goal: to examine the "germ" of diagnostic suspicion, which is the true salt of medical art for every physician, general practitioner and specialist alike. In some cases also the characteristics of the late clinical picture are presented: today, though, this must be considered as a medical failure.

Chest Imaging Cases thoroughly encompasses the field of thoracic radiology through 137 cases covering common and challenging radiologic and clinical issues. The cases are divided into categories important for board examinations and clinical practice: diagnoses that should be made on radiography, trachea, esophagus, chest wall, thoracic outlet, congenital lesions, mediastinal lesions, pleura, diaphragm, pulmonary masses, diffuse lung disease, pulmonary vascular disease, thoracic trauma, and post-surgical complications. Using a problem and solution format, each case features high-quality images, practical differential diagnoses, approaches to daily practice, management pearls and suggested readings. Concise discussions keep cases brief and informative, allowing for efficient learning and interpretation. Chest Imaging Cases is the essential resource for honing diagnostic skills in thoracic radiology for students, physicians-in-training and practitioners. Features: * Features over 500 images and 137 cases covering common and challenging clinical issues. * Each case includes high-quality images, practical differential diagnoses, approaches to daily practice, and suggested readings. * Concise discussions keep cases brief and informative, allowing for efficient learning and interpretation.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Information Processing in Medical Imaging, IPMI 2011, held at Kloster Irsee, Germany, in July 2011. The 24 full papers and 39 poster papers included in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 224 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on segmentation, statistical methods, shape analysis, registration, diffusion imaging, disease progression modeling, and computer aided diagnosis. The poster sessions deal with segmentation, shape analysis, statistical methods, image reconstruction, microscopic image analysis, computer aided diagnosis, diffusion imaging, functional brain analysis, registration and other related topics.

The current book represents a distillation of the experience gained in diagnosis of intracranial tumors with computed X-ray tomography at the University Hos pitals of Berlin, Mainz, and Miinchen. To what purpose? Standard radiological techniques such as pneumoencephalography with lumbar puncture and cerebral arteriography with puncture of the common carotid artery are invasive proce dures which entail a certain amount of risk as well as discomfort for the patient. Furthermore, diagnoses made with these procedures rely primarily on indirect signs of an intracranial space-occupying lesion - such as displacement of the air-filled ventricles or of normal cerebral vessels. Only a few types of tumor are demonstrated directly with these techniques. In contrast, computed tomography demonstrates the pathology directly in almost all cases, and this with a minimum of risk and discomfort. In addition, normal intracranial structures are demonstrated, so that the tumor's effect on its surroundings can be evaluated. Today, almost a decade after HOUNSFIELD'S revolutionary invention, diagno sis of brain tumors without computed tomography is almost unthinkable, if not in fact irresponsible."

Radiologists who already use the SOMATOM PLUS computed tomography system discuss their experiences in this report of a User Conference in March, 1990. The distinct advantage of this system in which the whole measuring system rotates continuously is emphasized. More than fifty participants from nine European countries present scientific papers, discuss clinical experience and consider future prospects.

All unsuccessful revolutions are the same, but each successful one is different in its own distinctive way. The reason why revolutions occur is that new forces attain increasing significance and classic institutions are incapable of accomodating these forces. Such has been the pattern of events in the English, American and French revolutions. These successful revolutions produced a new dynamic and new perspectives. One English revolutionary put this succinctly: "Let us be doing, but let us be united in doing." This book sets out what is a revolution in. the perspectives of diagnostic imaging of the kidney and urinary tract. Forces which have brought about this revolution are the advent of reliable techniques in radioisotope studies, ultrasonics and computerized tomographic (CT) scanning. This last modality carries with it specific problems for routine paediatric work and its role in the study of kidney and urinary tract problems is discrete and circumscribed. However, in conjunction with classic radiology, each of these techniques yields information of a different type and so a synthesis of data accrues.

Various textbooks on stereotactic neurosurgery have been published during the last few years (Riechert 1980, Schaltenbrand and Walker 1982, Spiegel 1982), all of them dealing with functional stereo tactics as the major subject in the field. Diagnostic and therapeutic stereotactic interventions are only briefly described, whereas localization techniques are not yet mentioned. Since 1980, however, an increasing number of reports has been published on CT guided and computer monitored stereotactic performances which enable the surgeon to combine diagnostic and therapeutic efforts in one session. With recent progress in scanning techniques, including high resolution CT, NMR, and PET imaging of the brain, it has become possible to study and localize any brain area of interest. With the concomitant advances in computer technology, 3-dimensional reconstruction of deep seated lesions in stereotactic space is possible and the way is open for combined surgery with stereotactic precision and computer guided open resection. This type of open surgery in stereotactic space is already being developed in some centers with the aid of microsurgical, fiberoptic, and laser beam instrumentation. With these advances stereotactic techniques will rapidly become in tegrated into clinical neurosurgery. Stereotactics has become a metho dology which enables the surgeon to attack deep seated and subcortical small tumors. Neurosurgeons may abandon therapeutic nihilism, still frequently seen in glioma treatment, in the near future when stereotactic resection will be feasible and remaining tumor cells may be killed by adjuvant treatment modalities still in development."

This book constitutes the proceedings of the Second International Conference on Information Processing in Computer-Assisted Interventions IPCAI 2011, held in Berlin, Germany, on June 22, 2011. The 17 papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 29 submissions. The focus of the conference is the use of information technology in interventional medicine, including real-time modeling and analysis, technology, human-machine interfaces, and systems associated with operating rooms and interventional suites. It also covers the overall information flow associated with intervention planning, execution, follow-up, and outcome analysis; as well as training and skill assessment for such procedures.