Last year's congress

As medical practices become more and more automated among patients and doctors, the role of technology in healthcare has become critical to effective patient care. Technology helps to reduce errors, prevent adverse drug reactions, protect patient privacy, and improve overall care. Nowadays, technology plays a major role in every aspect of health care. One of these aspects is the development of treatment methods that results in better patient outcomes. Therefore it is crucial that future doctors gain knowledge of the increasing number of technical innovations in health care. ISCOMS 2023 gave an exclusive insight into the world of Hi-Tech Health. 

Different aspects of Hi-Tech Health were displayed at ISCOMS 2023. For instance, the operation was about the removal of endometriosis using the cutting-edge Da Vinci robot. Furthermore Prof. Samuel Achilefu MD PhD gave an interesting lecture about his invention of the so-called ‘Cancer Goggles’ which allows a surgeon to see cancer cells during an operation. Moreover, Hi-Tech Health will be demonstrated in several workshops.  

The logo for Hi-Tech Health can be seen at the bottom of this page. Workshops or lectures that were Hi-Tech Health-related could be recognised via this logo. 

We were very happy that ISCOMS 2023 could take place in fully physical form. We loved to welcome everybody in Groningen for ISCOMS 2023!

Sustainability was one of our main objectives during the congress. Hospitals contribute a great amount to the health of human society, however, they also play a huge role in polluting our planet. Therefore, ISCOMS raised awareness of the impact hospitals have. In the following, we outline how this was done. 

Maria Koijck is a Dutch spatial artist, who wants to increase people’s awareness of surgery waste. In 2019 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and her breast had to be removed. From the waste that was produced during the operation, she made a piece of art that was shown in the lunch area throughout the congress (see video).  

To reduce waste during the congress, we asked all our participants to bring their own water bottles and bags. There was no physical congress bag. However, there was a stand with free sustainable gadgets and there was a possibility to get an ISCOMS bag when you bought merchandise.  

Next to this, the book of abstracts (BoA) was online, and also all the poster presentations had to be given on LCD screens to save paper. 

Furthermore, the congress was 100% vegetarian, which saved more than 1800 kilos of CO₂! Next, we strongly advised our European participants to come by train (see the train map of Europe made by the Green Office of the University of Groningen). If you traveled by plane, you could compensate for your flight by investing in sustainable solar energy, see www.flygrn.com.

In short: travel by train and bring your own water bottle and bag!