The Sixth International Conference on Pediatric Mechanical Circulatory Support Systems and Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Perfusion was held at the Joseph B. Martin Conference Center at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, USA, May 6–8, 2010 (1). The scientific cochairs of the pediatric event were Elizabeth D. Blume, MD, Boston, MA, USA; Pedro del Nido, MD, Boston, MA, USA; Giovanni Battista Luciani, MD, Verona, Italy; John L. Myers, MD, Hershey, PA, USA; Ulrich Steinseifer, PhD, Aachen, Germany; and Akif Ündar, PhD, Hershey, PA, USA. Elizabeth D. Blume, MD, Medical Director, Heart Failure/Transplant Program of the Children’s Hospital Boston, was the local conference chair.
Over 275 participants from 20 countries have enjoyed over 100 presentations, including invited lectures, slides, and posters presented at the Sixth Event. The conference Website has all the details including all past conference proceedings with presented abstracts as well as more information about the future events (http://www.hmc.psu.edu/childrens/pedscpb). Social and scientific evaluations of the conference were also outstanding for each category.
CONFERENCE AWARDS
This event continues to recognize young investigators, residents, and students for their contributions to the advancement of cardiopulmonary bypass and mechanical circulatory support systems for pediatric patients. Based on full manuscripts, 10 Young Investigator Awards were awarded this year; Table 1 has the details regarding these awards. We were also pleased to see several previous young investigator awardees from the earlier events who have become faculty members around the globe and who brought their students to this event. Sung Yang, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Nanobio Materials and Electronics, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Korea; Amy L. Throckmorton, PhD, Qimonda Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University; and Kerem Pekkan, PhD, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering Department, Carnegie Mellon University, are only a few examples of these young scientists.
TABLE 1.
Sixth International Conference awards
| Award | Awardee | Title of manuscript |
|---|---|---|
| John A. Waldhausen, MD, Young Investigator Award | Hannah Zimmerman, MD | Mechanical support and medical therapy reverse heart failure in infants and children |
| William S. Pierce, MD, Young Investigator Award | Shu-Chien Huang, MD | Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation for pediatric patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest |
| William Williams, MD, Young Investigator Award | Takashi Sasaki, MD | Cerebral oxygen metabolism during total body flow and antegrade cerebral perfusion at deep and moderate hypothermia |
| Penn State Children’s Hospital, Young Investigator Award | Jan D. Schmitto, MD | A novel, innovative ovine model of chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy induced by multiple coronary ligations |
| Helmut Reul, PhD, Young Investigator Award | Feng Qiu, MD | Evaluation of neonatal membrane oxygenators with respect to gaseous microemboli capture and transmembrane pressure gradients |
| Aydin Aytaç, MD, Young Investigator Award | Xiaowei W. Su, MD/PhD candidate | Improved cerebral oxygen saturation and blood flow pulsatility with pulsatile perfusion during pediatric cardiopulmonary bypass |
| Biomedical Engineering Graduate Student Award | Kiana Aran, PhD candidate | A two-compartment microfiltration microdevice for continuous protein extraction from whole blood during cardiac surgery |
| Biomedical Engineering Graduate Student Award | Onur Dur, PhD candidate | In vitro evaluation of right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction with bicuspid valved polytetrafluoroethylene conduit |
| Biomedical Engineering Graduate Student Award | Steven G. Chopski, BS | Particle image velocimetry measurements of an idealized total cavopulmonary connection with mechanical circulatory assistance in the inferior vena cava |
| Biomedical Engineering Graduate Student Award | Yang Jun Kang, MS | A high accurate and consistent microfluidic viscometer for continuous blood viscosity measurement |
ARTIFICIAL ORGANS
Once again, we have the opportunity to publish all of the conference abstracts in the April 2010 issue of Artificial Organs. In addition, this particular issue (November 2010) of the Artificial Organs is also dedicated to manuscripts collected and peer-reviewed by experts in the field. Our special thanks go to Angela T. Hadsell, Executive Editor; Carol Malchesky; and Paul S. Malchesky, DEng, Editor-in-Chief, for making this possible. We also appreciate very much the reviewers for their time and knowledge. Without their input, it could not be possible to select the best manuscripts for this special issue.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
During the past 6 years, we were able to organize this event using significant funds from the Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital and Pediatric Cardiovascular Research Center. This year, we are proud to say that we have received additional educational support from the Children’s Hospital Boston, and funds from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the International Society for Pediatric Mechanical Cardiopulmonary Support.
In addition, major financial support was received from companies, including:
Platinum level supporters:
Berlin Heart GmbH
MAQUET Cardiovascular
Gold level supporter:
Somanetics Corporation
Bronze level supporters:
Abiomed, Inc.
CircuLite, Inc.
Impulse Monitoring, Inc.
MEDOS Medizintechnik AG
Sorin Group USA
St. Jude’s Medical
SynCardia Systems, Inc.
Terumo Cardiovascular Systems
Wiley-Blackwell
FIRST ANNUAL MEETING OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR PEDIATRIC MECHANICAL CARDIOPULMONARY SUPPORT
With the encouragement of dozens of our past participants and the outstanding scientific outcomes of the international event year after year, we have established a new nonprofit organization called the “International Society for Pediatric Mechanical Cardiopulmonary Support” (2). This society has the identical mission with our annual international event: “The mission of this society is to focus on the current problems associated with pediatric cardiac patients during and after acute or chronic cardiac support. The society will bring together as many distinguished clinicians, bioengineers, and basic scientists as possible, to precisely define the current problems and suggest solutions with novel approaches. Our long-term aspirations are to (i) establish our society as the leading forum for further development of novel treatments and devices for cardiovascular health in pediatric populations at pediatric heart centers around the world; (ii) educate more bioengineers, medical students, residents, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty members in pediatric cardiovascular research; and (iii) ensure that our pediatric international conference (International Conference for Pediatric Mechanical Circulatory Support Systems and Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Perfusion—http://www.hmc.psu.edu/childrens/pedscpb/) continues to be the leading conference for defining the problems of current mechanical circulatory support systems in pediatric patients and suggesting appropriate solutions for underserved pediatric cardiac patients around the globe” (2).
The first annual meeting of the society was held at the Sixth International Conference on Pediatric Mechanical Circulatory Support Systems and Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Perfusion at the Joseph B. Martin Conference Center at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, on May 7, 2010. To achieve the goals of the society, several committees have been established and current cochairs and members of these committees have been finalized. For the society’s educational goal, we have already set up several 1-day pediatric extracorporeal life support hands-on training using the latest technology at the Penn State Hershey for the members of the society. Table 2 includes the founding board members of the society.
TABLE 2.
Founding board members of the international society
| Founding board members 2010 |
|---|
| Erle H. Austin III, MD, USA |
| J. William Gaynor, MD, USA |
| Giovanni Battista Luciani, MD, Italy |
| John L. Myers, MD, USA |
| David Palanzo, CCP, USA |
| Chitra Ravishankar, MD, USA |
| Shunji Sano, MD, PhD, Japan |
| Jeffrey Towbin, MD, USA |
| Akif Ündar, PhD, USA |
| Bonnie L. Weaver, RN, MSN, CCRN, USA |
| Gil Wernovsky, MD, USA |
SUMMARY
We have concluded another fantastic event in 2010, and research findings reported during the past six conferences have already made a significant impact on the treatment of pediatric cardiac patients worldwide. More than 1600 leading international scholars from over 30 countries have participated in the past six events. To date, over 265 manuscripts, including original articles, editorials, special reports, and case reports have been peer-reviewed and published in Artificial Organs. These publications have become the largest resource for investigators in their research projects related to pediatric CPB and MCS. I personally thank all invited speakers and participants for participating at the past six events and for making this conference a leading forum to exchange ideas and learn more from each other’s experiences every year.
SEVENTH INTERNATIONAL EVENT
The seventh event will be held at the University of Pennsylvania, Hall of Flags of the Houston Hall, May 5–7, 2011. Houston Hall is the oldest student union (built in 1896) in the USA. J. William Gaynor, MD; Chitra Ravishankar, MD; and Gil Wernovsky, MD, from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia will be the scientific cochairs of this unique event.
As I conclude this editorial, I would write again as I have many times before. “If the course of just one child’s life is improved as a result of this event, then we have surely reached our goal.” We hope to see all of you again at the seventh event in Philadelphia, May 5–7, 2011.
Acknowledgments
Funding for this conference was made possible (in part) by 5 R13 HL096358-02 from the National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
I sincerely appreciate all the organizational support we received from the Penn State team including Heather Stokes and Erlee Meyers, along with several pediatric research nurses (Sarah A. Sturgis, Jennifer L. Stokes, Heidi Watts, Amyee McMonagle, Julie Vallati, and Jessica Beiler) from the Pediatric Clinical Research Office at Penn State, and Dr. Feng Qiu, who helped to organize this event from A to Z (Fig. 1). I also want to thank Christian Panasuak and her staff at the conference center to manage this unique event.
FIG. 1.
Penn State Hershey pediatric cardiovascular research team (in part).
As always, without the continued support of my wife, Pinar and my children, Damla and Akifcan, it was not possible to have an additional two more non-biological members (international conference and society) to our family (Figs. 2 and 3).
FIG. 2.
Pinar and Akif Ündar.
FIG. 3.
Flying Akifcan, Akif, and Damla Ündar.
References
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