Participating Institutions:
Division of Thoracic Surgery, University of Ottawa -The Ottawa Hospital
Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Ottawa - The Ottawa Hospital
Dynamical Analysis Lab, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute - OHRI
University of Ottawa

Conference Home Page
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute	University of Ottawa

Summary

The International Conference on Complexity in Acute Illness (ICCAI) is the annual meeting of the Society for Complexity in Acute Illness (SCAI), which comprises a growing group of scientists and clinicians addressing acute illness through the paradigm and technology inherent to complexity science. This year, it will be a landmark event with the meeting being held for the first time outside of the US or Germany, with an outstanding list of world-renown speakers, along with industry collaboration. This 11th ICCAI meeting from Sep 6-9, 2012 will gather top international leaders in the field of complexity science from Eastern and Western Europe, Japan, the US and Canada. As it has in the past, the ICCAI conference will focus on relevant innovations intended for bedside applications. As the research in complexity science and its clinical applications frequently require the high level computational work as well as high quality waveform data provided by industry, industry and academic collaboration and a focus on standards will be at the forefront of the discussion. Support form the CMM-Fields will be essential for helping to ensure an outstanding event, and the creation of meaningful collaborative partnerships both amongst clinicians and scientists, as well as between academia and industry.

The ICCAI meeting is an interdisciplinary symposium which is focused on bringing together, critical care physicians, physicists, computer scientists, bioengineers and mathematicians with the goal of improving the care and outcome of the acutely ill through the applications of complex systems science. Research in complex systems science, interconnected with applied mathematics and basic science principles, has shown remarkable promise, including within health care. Despite useful insights, implementation of therapeutic interventions at the bedside derived from complex systems remains wanting. In the ICCAI meeting, experts in the field of complex systems science will present and discuss their knowledge and experience, while emphasizing on the methodology, utility and application of complexity and continuous variability analysis at the bedside of patients.

Distinct from basic science and epidemiology, bedside applications of complex systems science offers a complementary means to understand, evaluate and treat patients. The ICCAI meeting will bring together experts and students with knowledge of medicine, theoretical physics, and mathematics to complete the following primary objectives; 1) to discuss theories regarding the origins and etiology of complexity in physiological signals 2) examine and refine the methodology of continuous variability analysis 3) review and discuss the clinical applications of complex systems science, and 4) discuss and foster trans-disciplinary collaborative research projects. The ICCAI meeting also recognizes the importance of maintaining its academic objectives and offers outreach and educational opportunities for students and postdoctoral fellows. The group has a mission to promote post-graduate education by making presentations and discussions available to graduate students according to subject themes and, subsequently collate, review and publish the resultant contributions in journals.

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