Progess in specific computer-assisted techniques (digital imaging , computer-aided diagnosis, image-guided surgery, MEMS, etc.) combined with computer-assisted integration tools offers a valuable complement to or replacement for existing procedures in healthcare. Physicians are now employing PACS and telemedicine systems as enabling infrastructures to improve quality of and access to healthcare. Tools based on CAD and CAS facilitate completely new paths in patient care. To ensure that CARS tools benefit the patient, collaboration between various disciplines, specifically radiology, surgery, engineering, informatics, and healthcare management, is a critical factor. A multidisciplinary congress like CARS is a step in the desired direction of knowledge sharing and crossover education. It provides the necessary cooperative framework for advancing the development and application of modern computer-assisted technologies in healthcare.

The 6th International Conference on Medical Imaging and Computer-Assisted Intervention,MICCAI2003,washeldinMontr ́ eal,Qu ́ ebec,CanadaattheF- rmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel during November 15–18, 2003. This was the ?rst time the conference had been held in Canada. The proposal to host MICCAI 2003 originated from discussions within the Ontario Consortium for Ima- guided Therapy and Surgery, a multi-institutional research consortium that was supported by the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Ministry of E- erprise, Opportunity and Innovation. The objective of the conference was to o?er clinicians and scientists a - rum within which to exchange ideas in this exciting and rapidly growing ?eld. MICCAI 2003 encompassed the state of the art in computer-assisted interv- tions, medical robotics, and medical-image processing, attracting experts from numerous multidisciplinary professions that included clinicians and surgeons, computer scientists, medical physicists, and mechanical, electrical and biome- cal engineers. The quality and quantity of submitted papers were most impressive. For MICCAI 2003 we received a record 499 full submissions and 100 short c- munications. All full submissions, of 8 pages each, were reviewed by up to 5 reviewers, and the 2-page contributions were assessed by a small subcomm- tee of the Scienti?c Review Committee. All reviews were then considered by the MICCAI 2003 Program Committee, resulting in the acceptance of 206 full papers and 25 short communications. The normal mode of presentation at MICCAI 2003 was as a poster; in addition, 49 papers were chosen for oral presentation.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the International Symposium on Surgery Simulation and Soft Tissue Modeling, IS4TM 2003, held in Juan-Les-Pins, France in June 2003. The 33 revised full papers presented together with 3 invited papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 45 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on soft tissue models, haptic rendering, cardiac modeling, and patient specific simulators.

The 7th International Conference on Medical Imaging and Computer Assisted Intervention, MICCAI 2004, was held in Saint-Malo, Brittany, France at the “Palais du Grand Large” conference center, September 26–29, 2004. The p- posaltohostMICCAI2004wasstronglyencouragedandsupportedbyIRISA, Rennes. IRISA is a publicly funded national research laboratory with a sta? of 370,including150full-timeresearchscientistsorteachingresearchscientistsand 115 postgraduate students. INRIA, the CNRS, and the University of Rennes 1 are all partners in this mixed research unit, and all three organizations were helpful in supporting MICCAI. MICCAI has become a premier international conference with in-depth - pers on the multidisciplinary ?elds of medical image computing, comput- assisted intervention and medical robotics. The conference brings together cl- icians, biological scientists, computer scientists, engineers, physicists and other researchers and o?ers them a forum to exchange ideas in these exciting and rapidly growing ?elds. The impact of MICCAI increases each year and the quality and quantity of submitted papers this year was very impressive. We received a record 516 full submissions (8 pages in length) and 101 short communications (2 pages) from 36 di?erent countries and 5 continents (see ?gures below). All submissions were reviewed by up to 4 external reviewers from the Scienti?c Review C- mittee and a primary reviewer from the Program Committee. All reviews were then considered by the MICCAI 2004 Program Committee, resulting in the acceptance of 235 full papers and 33 short communications.

Magical describes conditions that are outside our understanding of cause and effect. Even in modern societies, magic-based explanations are powerful because, given the complexity of the universe, there are so many opportunities to use them. The history of medicine is defined by progress in understanding the human body - from magical explanations to measurable results. To continue medical progress, physicians and scientists must openly question traditional models. For thirteen years, MMVR has been an incubator for technologies that create new medical understanding via the simulation, visualization, and extension of reality. Researchers create imaginary patients because they offer a more reliable and controllable experience to the novice surgeon. With imaging tools, reality is purposefully distorted to reveal to the clinician what the eye alone cannot see. Robotics and intelligence networks allow the healer's sight, hearing, touch, and judgment to be extended across distance, as if by magic. The moments when scientific truth is suddenly revealed after lengthy observation, experimentation, and measurement is the real magic. These moments are not miraculous, however. book.

This volume contains the papers of the 19th International Congress of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery (CARS 2005) held in Berlin, Germany between 22 and 25 June 2005. For 20 years, CARS has developed a culture of innovation with its focus on interdisciplinary and international cooperation. In approximately 20,000 pages of proceedings written by several thousand authors from more than 50 countries, many innovative developments have been reported which now assist the daily practice of physicians in their care of patients. Examples are PACS, a concept on which CARS was founded, and computer assisted surgical tools and systems, which were initially reported in CAR 85 and have now become mainstream developments. Some of these innovations are incremental, making noticeable improvements in daily practice, but others like PACS or minimally invasive surgery are transformational innovations in a sense that they have fundamentally changed the way "things" are done. CARS has established itself as the major event for the presentation of R & D work of high actuality. In addition to the traditional scientific/medical sessions, some of the outstanding topics presented and which are included in the CARS 2005 conference proceedings include: Interventional Radiology; Colon and Liver CAD; Intra-Operative Imaging; Minimal Invasive Spine Surgery; PACS Beyond Radiology (in conjunction with EuroPACS); Surgical PACS and the Digital Operating Room (in conjunction with SPIE Integrating the Health Care Enterprise (in conjunction with EuroPACS). The process of innovation in these fields is a continuum with many examples of other new developments being presented at CARS 2005, which marks the 20th anniversary of the congress.

- Presents the latest in-depth engineering and mathematical studies - Gives an overview of recent research and clinical evaluation results - Contributions from international medical and engineering experts