Key Points
- The inaugural IEEE SAUS meeting was held March 27–29 in Gandhinagar, India.
- More than 160 participants heard plenary and invited lectures given by 16 international focused ultrasound experts.
The inaugural IEEE SAUS meeting was held March 27–29, 2024, in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). A hybrid event, the scientific program included plenary talks, special sessions, networking events, and oral and poster presentations of peer-reviewed papers. Three pre-symposium tutorials were also conducted from March 25–26. The meeting was organized by Arun K. Thittai from IIT Madras, Himanshu Shekhar and Karla P. Mercado-Shekhar from IIT Gandhinagar, Mahesh R. Panicker from the Singapore Institute of Technology, and an international program committee.
“IEEE SAUS put a spotlight on ultrasound research in India,” said Dr. Shekhar. “The considerable international presence and industry participation provided a great opportunity to connect the global research community with India to advance ultrasound. Holding this meeting will pay long-term dividends for advancing research and the biomedical ultrasound ecosystem in India. This symposium was a watershed moment for the Indian ultrasound research community.”
More than 160 participants attended the meeting in person and virtually, which featured plenary and invited lectures given by:
- F. Levent Degertekin (Georgia Tech): CMUT Based Systems with Applications Ranging from Intravascular to Transcranial Ultrasound
- Kullervo Hynynen (Sunnybrook Research Institute): MRI-guided Focused Ultrasound for Noninvasive Brain Treatments
- Christy Holland (University of Cincinnati): Ultrasound Image–Guided, Catheter-Directed Therapies to Treat Cardiovascular Disease
- Suresh Seshadri (Mediscan Systems): Artificial Intelligence in Fetal Medicine
- Ashish Ranjan (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center): Chemo-Immunotherapy of Solid Tumors with Focused Ultrasound and Nanomedicines
- Vikas Vazhayil (National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru): Ultrasound in Brain Surgery – for Preservation and Destruction
- Krishnan Balasubramaniam (IIT Madras): Asset and Process Integrity Monitoring: Guided Ultrasonic Waves Journey
- Ayache Bouakaz (University of Tours, France): Ultrasound and Microbubbles for Anticancer Drug Delivery: From Physics to Clinics
- Phaneendra Yalavarthy (Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru): Navigating Challenges in Artificial Intelligence based Ultrasound Image Analysis
- Chrit Moonen (Focused Ultrasound Foundation): Focused Ultrasound Histotripsy Combined with Immune Checkpoint Inhibition for the Treatment of Advanced Cancer: From Preclinical Research to Phase I Clinical Trial
- Vishal Raval (L. V. Prasad Eye Institute): Ocular Ultrasound: Past, Present, and Future
- K. Vijayan (Royal Care Super Specialty Hospital, Coimbatore): MR Guided Focused Ultrasound Lesioning: Not an Axon More Not a Neuron Less
- Koen van Dongen (Delft Institute of Technology): From Acoustic Field Equations to Imaging and Full-Waveform Inversion
- Deep Bera (Samsung Research India Bangalore): Ultrasound Imaging with Field II: A Comprehensive Tutorial
- Navchetan Awasthi (University of Amsterdam): Artificial Intelligence in Ultrasound Imaging
- Chintan Oza: Why It’s the Right Time to Start a Startup in India
“The feedback was enthusiastic, and the scientific level was high,” said Chrit Moonen, PhD, the Foundation’s scientific programs director. “The majority of the participants came from the various Indian Institutes of Technology, an area of major investment of the Indian government. The Foundation was pleased to help sponsor this meeting, which the organizers wish to make a yearly event.”
Awards were given for the best papers and posters, and several special events were held for students and young professionals. Because of the generous sponsorships, the early bird registration fee, dormitory accommodations, and food were kept to $40 for students from lower- and middle-income countries, and $100 for others, which enhanced participation.
Breakfast, lunches, and dinners were served at the conference, making this an event from 7:30 a.m. until 10 pm for all participants.
A searchable program is available for all of the presentations.