|
| July 2015 |
 |
 |
Message from the Vice President
From the desk of the Vice President, Mike Capuano
Dear Members of CMBES,
I’m sending this message on behalf of both Martin and myself since Martin is on vacation (see - Presidents do take vacation!). I’ve just come back from mine. If you see this message you are likely at work or on vacation as well (but still checking texts and emails?). If you are on vacation, please close this message and get back to it. If not, I want those of you to try to take at least some time off to relax and take in the warm weather. It doesn’t last very long and it will be Fall before you know it. This year has probably been more busy for many of you especially if you were involved in the World Congress. Thanks to everyone who helped with organizing or by submitting papers and making presentations. Remember to check in on the webinars we are setting up for this Fall and with every chance you get, spread the word about the benefits of being a member of the CMBES. Joining is easy especially with the new Associate Member rates. The benefits keep increasing with significant discounts on publications like the Journal of Clinical Engineering. Also, always consider joining a committee. It is a win-win thing to do and don’t forget to check the CMBES Forum. It’s a great way to find answers and stay connected with colleagues.
Best Wishes, enjoy the rest of the summer! |
We are very excited to introduce our new rubric – Spotlight on the CMBES Executive! Do you know who the CMBES Executive are? Every month you will have an opportunity to meet the Executive members up-close and to learn a bit more about this passionate and dedicated group of professionals. All the Executive serve the Society as volunteers; through their collective experience and vision, they contribute to the continuing success of The Canadian Medical Biological Engineering Society. So we are inviting you to learn more about them, their professional and volunteer experience, what CMBES means to them and why they are involved with the Society, as well as some fun facts and hobbies they enjoy during their downtime. We hope you will enjoy this new rubric!
Meet Tidimogo Gaamangwe, Publication Committee Chair
Tidimogo Gaamangwe with his photography gear at the Seven Sisters Country Park, Sussex, UK |
I have had an exciting and challenging professional career, which has taken me to the heart of the Kalahari Desert and the Canadian Prairies. I have met and worked with wonderful colleagues, and have had the opportunity to visit amazing places in India, China, Hong Kong, Greece, the UK, Hawaii, continental USA and right here in Canada.
CMBES is a national professional organization representing training, practice and policy issues affecting engineering professionals in healthcare. Therefore, CMBES has an important role to play in the various aspects of education, research, professional development and professional practice of engineering professionals in medicine and biology. To carry out its mandate, CMBES relies on volunteers. For that reason, I am involved in CMBES partly to fulfill my professional responsibilities, and more importantly to contribute my skills in advancing the mandate of the society; for the national good and the good of the general membership. |
| My hobbies / interests include golf, badminton, comedy, music and photography. Fun facts: I love traveling, which has given me the opportunity to indulge in exotic culinary, which has included mopane worms, chicken feet and scorpions. I would love to travel into space and of course it is on my list if I ever win lottery – a very distant reality ☺. |
 |
Meet Kyle Eckhardt, Treasurer
Kyle skiing in Roger’s Pass, British Columbia |
I moved to Winnipeg in 2010 to begin my career working as a Clinical Engineer with Cardiac and Surgery Programs. These two programs and their staff have inspired me to go the extra mile with their care, compassion, dedication to patient care and continuous pursuit of excellence.
CMBES is important to me because it unites professionals and academics from across the country. The organization offers so many opportunities for members to collaborate and support each other while furthering the society’s aims. It is an honour to work and serve alongside the many members who contribute their time and energy. |
| My hobbies include skiing, rock climbing, mountain biking, canoeing, cooking (indoors and outdoors) and travelling. I was extremely fortunate to be able to visit Japan in early 2015. We skied in Hakuba and Niseko for almost three weeks; touring the tsunami affected areas near Sendai, the many districts of Tokyo and beautiful Kyoto for two weeks before returning home. Japan is a wonderful country with humble people who are the kindest I have ever met. I highly recommend putting it on your travel list! |
 |
|
Welcome to the New CMBES Members!
From the desk of the Membership Committee Chair, Sarah Kelso
After struggling for a few months, I am happy to report that we are finally starting to see our membership numbers increasing! We currently have 236 members including 131 full members, 17 associate members, 50 student members, and 38 members in other categories.
Please join me in welcoming the following new members (applications approved in June 2015):
Sree Niranjanaa Bose S
Nagy Awad
Yu Xia
Vivek Trivedi
Mohamed Abdelazez
Sarah Bruch
Stephane Lajeunesse
|
If any of the above new members are your colleagues or acquaintances, please take the time to congratulate them on their new membership and thank them for their interest in our Society.
|
Certifications: Important Reminder
From the desk of the Professional Affairs Chair, Andrew Ibey
Don’t forget that August 8th is the last day to register for your Clinical Engineering Certification in 2015. Also there are many other certifications to distinguish yourself and advance your career. Why not be one of the first to get AAMI’s new Certified Healthcare Technology Manager (CHTM) designation!? Information can be found on the CMBES website under the Certifications tab.
|
Donations of Medical Equipment to the Developing Countries
From the desk of International Outreach Chair, Bill Gentles
 |
The International Outreach Committee is wrapping up its work on the IDRC funded project on "Improving the Effectiveness of Medical Equipment Donations to Developing Countries". The end date of the grant was May 31, 2015, but the work of data analysis continues with the help of some student volunteers. We have identified 41 Canadian organizations that donate medical equipment and supplies to developing countries. We just recently received a wealth of survey data from our Ghana research assistant on the perspective of the recipients of equipment donations. We are just now in the process of analyzing this data. |
We have produced a video that explains some of the challenges involved in making successful donations of medical equipment. This video has not yet been released publicly, but you can see an early release at the button below.
Password is cmbes
In the near future we plan to explore methods to set up a communication network among organizations that donate medical equipment and supplies, as many are currently operating in isolation from each other. Such a network would facilitate the sharing of learning experiences among these organizations.
We are currently planning another project to address one of the needs that we identified in this project. We are calling it "Tools for Techs" or some variation of that phrase.
Part of the reason much medical equipment in developing countries is out of service is because the technicians that are employed in those healthcare systems lack tools and proper training.
The donation of medical equipment has a strong emotional appeal to many donors, whereas the donation of service tools lacks that appeal, but is equally important for the sustainability of the equipment that is already there. We are working on ideas to direct the fundraising campaign to foundations and societies that might be sympathetic to this issue.
If you are interested in helping out with any of our projects, don't hesitate to contact
Bill Gentles.
|
Promoting CMBES Internationally
From the desk of the Professional Affairs Chair, Andrew Ibey
The IUPESM 2015 World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering in Toronto was a success in more ways than one. Our CMBES booth was busy all week and we were trading business cards promoting CMBES internationally! We have a few contacts from Ireland, Cyprus, Uruguay, Brazil and the US that we are hoping to make contact with and see if there is synergy to find partnerships or joint ventures. We will advise of any formal pursuits in the future! If any member has any ideas for national or international affiliations with professional organizations please contact Andrew Ibey.
|
CMBES Member Story
World Congress Exhibits by Mohamed Abdelazez and Alicia Gal
 
Exhibitors at the World Congress displayed a great diversity, providing representations from academia, industry and engineering societies. With over 90 exhibits to peruse, the World Congress delegates were able to capitalize on this unique opportunity to network and mingle, and form new collaborations. Carleton University (Ottawa, Ontario) was fortunate to participate in this networking experience. A group of graduate students were tasked with the set-up and manning of the Carleton University's booth during this weeklong congress. Students were selected from the Ottawa Carleton Institutes for Biomedical Engineering and Medical Physics. We were two lucky and energetic students who were selected for this life-changing task. During our time manning the Carleton’s booth, we met various researchers from across the globe who shared our passion for Biomedical Engineering. Industry representatives showed great interest in the current research within Canada and were very interested in forming collaborations amongst Canadian academic institutions. In addition to industry, many international undergraduate and graduate students were attracted to the Canadian universities, displaying a great interest in pursuing their subsequent educational endeavours within our beautiful country and enhancing the Canadian research profile. The international students were mostly inquiring about the research fields, explored by the Canadian universities, the application process, the criteria for accepting international students and available funding. Their inquiries were not only limited to the universities; on the contrary, international students or largely delegates for that matter were also eager to learn about Canada. It is important to note that many delegates were captivated by the charms of Toronto. Overall, the World Congress provided a key platform for future collaborations between Canadian universities, industry and researchers to occur, and limitless opportunities for great advancement within Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering.
|
Reminder: Exclusive CMBES Member Discount on the Journal of Clinical Engineering
From the desk of the Membership Committee Chair, Sarah Kelso
CMBES is very excited to announce a new CMBES Member benefit: all members of CMBES (all membership categories) now qualify for a significant member-only discount on an online subscription to the Journal of Clinical Engineering. The online subscription is being offered to members at the deeply discounted rate of only $109 per year, a $144 savings off the regular online subscription price of $253.
The Journal of Clinical Engineering, published quarterly, keeps hospital clinical engineers and biomedical equipment technicians current on topics including industry trends and developments, clinical engineering management, quality control, device management and biomedical assessment. For more than two decades, the Journal of Clinical Engineering has been the leading independent journal in the field providing a balance of practical, theoretical, and applied papers, as well as focused, hands-on feature articles.
The subscription instructions and promotional code can be accessed by:
1) Logging into your CMBES account (through the CMBES homepage), and
2) Selecting Member Benefits from the “What would you like to do?” dropdown menu.
CMBES will continue to pursue other similar arrangements that we believe will be of value to our members. If you have any suggestions for membership benefits that CMBES should be offering, please do not hesitate to send them to secretariat@cmbes.ca.
|
MEDICON 2016, Call for Papers
From the desk of the Professional Affairs Chair, Andrew Ibey
Ever considered presenting your research work in Europe? Looking for a different conference flavor than the North American standards? Why not consider the Mediterranean Conference on Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing (MEDICON2016) in Cyprus in 2016. The MEDICON conferences are international events of high scientific standards with long lasting tradition held every third year in one of the Mediterranean countries under the auspices of the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering. They are now accepting papers until September 2015.
|
CMBES Forum Update
From the desk of the Secretary, Michael Hamilton
Have you been keeping up with the CMBES Forum? To join in, simply sign into your CMBES Network account and select “Forum” from the drop down box. Outlook users can also receive CMBES posts in their inbox by following some simple instructions. If you haven’t logged in recently, here’s some of what you’ve been missing:
Documentation of Complex Systems
Monday, June 29, 2015 by KyleEckhardt
Hi Folks,I am interested in knowing what you are doing local to document complex systems…
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disinfecting Screens
Friday, June 26, 2015 by Michael Hamilton
In Winnipeg we've standardized on Oxivir TB (accelerated hydrogen peroxide) for disinfecting…
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Biomedical Engineering Technologists in BC?
Monday, June 22, 2015 by wcgservices
Good afternoon, Would anyone be able to shed some light on the job prospects for biomedical…
|
World Congress Message
From the World Congress Organizing Committee
The IFMBE Proceedings for the IUPESM 2015 World Congress are now online.
Please visit the IUPESM 2015 website before October 31st for your free download. Please use password 2y@aAK!H on the IUPESM 2015 website to unlock this content.
|
|
UPCOMING EVENTS
|
May 24 – 27, 2016
CMBEC39, May 24-27,
Calgary, AB
 |
2017
CMBEC40, 2017
Winnipeg, MB
 |
| Interested in publishing your story in the monthly e-Bulletin or the quarterly Newsletter? Contact us to discuss your topic! |
|
