We would also like to acknowledge the Romanian Civil Aeronautic Authority and The Romanian Air Traffic Services Administration for their important support in organizing the congress. The Romanian Medical College endorsed the program by granting 18 CME credits.
The scientific programme was organized in 10 oral presentation sessions and 3 poster sessions. Allard Lecture was counted separately, and the Ernsting Panel was considered as session I.
Technical tours were held on Wednesday, September 14th. The most desired and visited was The National Institute of Aerospace Medicine in Bucharest. Here, delegates were given a general introduction followed by a tour comprising the aerospace physiology training facility, composed of an altitude chamber, a hyperbaric chamber, a spatial disorientation demonstrator and trainer and a night vision lab. When visiting the different medical units, delegates were shown state of the art medical equipment including MRI, CT, Echography, Endoscopy, Clinical Laboratory, Operating room as well as a fully computerized psychological examination center.
Delegates interested in first hand military matters have been shown an airforce base, with a static aircraft display, a modern MEDEVAC helicopter and a IAR 330 PUMA simulator. Those interested in ATC visited the Romanian Air Traffic Services Administration’s modern facility.
There were 299 participants at this congress, 270 being fully registered and 29 having one or two days registration. Also, a number of 37 paying accompanying persons were registered. A number of delegates from 58 countries were present.
We, as organizers, appreciate that the 59th ICASM was a successful, and we dare to hope unforgettable, event. The event was organized during harsh economical background, which have been impacted heavy on foreign attendance, so we received a lesser number of participants that we planned for.