Volume 5, No. 2 • Summer 1990

Society for Technology in Anesthesia Slates Meetings Around the World, Calls for Abstracts for January Conclave in Florida

N. Ty Smith, M. D.

The main news related to STA involves the meetings sponsored by it and its sister societies,The European Society for Computing and Technology in Anesthesia and Intensive Care the Japanese Society for Technology in Anesthesia, and the Life Support Technology Society (Japan).

STA Disney-Bound

First, we would like to remind you of the first Annual Meeting of the Society for Technology in Anesthesia (STA 9 1), to be held January 18-20, 1991, near Epcot Center and Disney World, Florida, at the Govesnor Resort Hotel.

The meeting itself will feature scientific presentations, three tutorial sessions, and a distinguished lecture. Both oral and poster presentations are welcome; the latter can be scientific demonstrations of equipment, software, etc. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A FINAL CALL FOR ABSTRACTS. All abstracts should be sent to Dr Kevin Tremper Chairman, Scientific Committee, STA 9 1, c/o Department of Anesthesia, Bldg. 53, Rm 22 7, Rt 8 1 A, UC Irvine Medical Center, I 0 1 City Drive South, Orange, CA 92668. The deadline for abstracts is August 1, and there is no special format for them. The limit is 250-500 words, plus illustrations and tables. Abstracts will be published in the Journal of Clinical Monitoring.

Future of Monitoring

We have already described the tutorial panels and Distinguished Lecture, but they bear repeating. The topic for the fire set of tutorials is “What’s Next in Monitoring.” During this session, Michael Cahalan will speak on Echo, Doppler, and TEE; Ira 1. Rampil on CNS Monitoring; and Stephen Barker on lntravascular Blood Gas Electrodes. On the following day, there will be a tutorial panel, entitled “The Uncertainty Surrounding Clinical Measurements,” chaired by 1. S. Gravenstein. The major questions asked will be “How accurate can we hope to be with our monitoring?” and “How accurate do we need to be?” The speakers will be Allen Ream, Blood Pressure; John Sevoinghaus, Pulse Oximetry; David Swedlow, Respiratory Gases and Inhaled Agents; and Terry Vitez, Electrolytes. A third tutorial will be run by CLASS and will address the question, ” How Can Technology Help Me Give Anesthesia Via a Closed Circuit?” Drs. Jerry Calkins, Alan Grogono, Gilbert Ritchie, and Dwayne Westenskow will be in charge of this section of the meeting. The Spacelabs Distinguished Lecturer will be Dr. Richard Kitz, who will discuss the subject, “Does a Technological Education During Medical School Make Better Doctors?”

STA is making” every effort to make its resources available to its members, as well as those interested in its goals. This philosophy is reflected in

STA 9 1. We want to make it financially as easy as possible to attend. For example registration fm are only $ 150 for members and $250 for nonmembers. In both cases, registration includes a reception, most meals, coffee breaks, registration materials, and the meeting itself. Nonmember registration includes a year’s membership; the $2 5 application fee is waived. In addition, the Grovesnor Hotel provides a frequent shuttle service to the major attractions of the area: Epcot Center, Disney World, and the MGM theme park. Thus, participants need not rent a car.

A special inexpensive, but exciting, tour is scheduled for the day before and after the meeting (Thursday,January 17 and Monday January 2l).We have arranged for a “behind-the-scenes” tour of the Kennedy Space Center, including the computers, animal facility, and laboratories.

Globetrotting Anesthesia Technology

In addition to STA ’91, don’t forget the other meetings cosponsored by STA. These include the First Annual Meeting of the European Society for Technology in Anesthesia and Intensive Care, to be held on October 24-27, 1990, in Salzburg, Austria. Another meeting cosponsored by STA is the 6th International Symposium on Computing in Anesthesia and intensive care to be held in Hamamatsu, Japan, April 15-20, 199 1. Contacts for these meetings are as follows. STA ’91: Ms. Gerri Kuzava, P. 0. Box 382, Hastings, MI 49058; Ist ESTAIC: Dr. Leo Moser, Anaesffiesiologie, L-andenkrankenhaus Salzburg, Mullner Huptstrabe 48, A-5020 &31zburg, Tel 0662/31581-2701. 6th ISCAIC: either Dr. Kazuyuki Ikeda, Chairman, Department of Anesthesiology, Hamamatsu University, School of Medicine, Hamamatsu 43 1-3 1, Japan, or Dr. Yasuhijro Fukui at Department of Applied Engineering, Tokyo Denki University, Hatoyama Saitama 3050-3, Japan.

ASA: QA at STA

If you attend the ASA Meeting in Las Vegas, October 19-23, 1990, be sure to save time to attend STA’s second Breakfast Panel. This year’s topic will be “How Can Technology Help Me with Quality Assurance?” Anything that can make life easier and fairer in this difficult area will be welcome, and the group of outstanding panelists promises to do just that. The panel will be moderated by Dr. John Eichhom, and will include Drs. Jerry Cohen and Terry Vitez.

An Alarming Dinner

Finally, also at the ASA Meeting will be a Saturday night dinner meeting (October 20), with a special panel jointly sponsored by STA and the AAMI Human Engineering Committee. The panel will explore alarms from the manufacturer’s and the user’s point of view. It represents a superb opportunity for both sides to be heard – for the manufacturer’s to pass on their ideas, but more importantly for the user to sound off and say what is wrong and how the situation might be improved. Who knows – some sort of consensus might even be reached. The panel will be moderated by Christopher Goodrich and Dr. Frank Block, and is expected to be very interesting and unusual.

Plan now to attend these important meetings. Dr. Smith, Veterans Administration Medical Center,

Department of Anesthesiology, San Diego, CA, is President of STA.