Dear Colleagues,
With great sadness we note that Prof. Hiroshi Shibasaki, president of the IFCN between 2006 and 2010, passed away on June 9. Long before this period and until recently he contributed substantially in scientific and administrative aspects to the progress of our Federation. His death is a big loss not only for the IFCN but also for the Japanese Societies of Clinical Neurophysiology and Neurology. Prof. Shibasaki was a great scientist, and many of us knew him personally and professionally from organizing and chairing excellent conferences in Japan. We lose a very friendly, warm-hearted colleague. Our thoughts are with his wife Shinobu and his family.
You will know of the IFCN’s efforts to support education, in particular in Africa, (where it is supported by the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Chapter). Our Africa Initiative’s aim is to improve education in clinical neurophysiology in Africa and to join with other organisations undertaking similar work. As an example, I would like to quote from recent correspondence with Jo Wilmshurst, Head of Paediatric Neurology, Capetown:
“Most clinicians involved in EEG work in Africa are general neurologists or psychiatrists, as epileptologists are a scarce breed, similarly pediatric neurologists. In my centre we have established a teaching program in which the major intended outcome is to ensure safe practice. All our pediatric neuro trainees are put through the training and even after they return to their home country (most come to us via the African Paediatric Fellowship Program) they remain in contact. We have online meetings every 2 weeks – initially with our colleagues in Kenya but we are now joined by other countries and discuss interesting cases and critique the EEG interpretations. Similarly, we use our Neurochat platform for planning the epilepsy surgical patients. Red Cross clinical neurophysiological senior technologist Ms Veena Kander is completing her PhD addressing the optimal training and developing effective curriculums / learning methods – specific for paeds and focused on the African context.”
This is just one example of what can be done; many more likely exist. If you know of other examples or would like to assist, then please contact Education Committee co-chair, Prof. Jonathan Cole.
The registration for the 32nd International Congress of Clinical Neurophysiology 2022 (ICCN 2022) in Geneva, Switzerland, September 4–8, is running very well. Please note the rapidly approaching June 30 deadline for early registration fees. Please also note the integration of IFCN special interest group (SIG) meetings, the largest being the “8th International Brain Stimulation SIG Meeting” which will take place as part of the ICCN 2022. At present, the Congress encompasses 38 education courses and 66 scientific sessions, of which 38 are Brain Stim talks (both courses and sessions as a continuous track) with altogether 286 speakers. The last meeting in Washington, DC in 2018 had more than 2000 participants and hopefully, we will come close to that.
ICCN early bird registration ends June 30, and late-breaking poster abstracts can also be submitted until June 30. The ICCN 2024 will take place in Jakarta, Indonesia at a date to be determined.
Ulf Ziemann’ Editor’s Choice of this month is: Ricci L, Matarrese M, Peters JM, Tamilia E, Madsen JR, Pearl PL, Papadelis C. Virtual implantation using conventional scalp EEG delineates seizure onset and predicts surgical outcome in children with epilepsy. Clin Neurophysiol 2022; 139: 49-57. Epilepsy surgery in children is a particularly important and difficult area. Modern computer-assisted virtual implantation techniques are very promising in improving and predicting outcome.
Sincerely,
Walter Paulus
IFCN President