The Spine Times Berlin Issue 1

ISSUE 1 /// WEDNESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2016 /// EUROSPINE2016.EU

WELCOME MESSAGE FROM THE LOCAL HOSTS

WELCOME MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT

Dear colleagues and friends,

Dear members, dear colleagues and friends,

After Munich in 1999, the EUROSPINE conference is now held for the second time in Germany – Welcome to Berlin!

We hope to get to know you personally during the upcoming days and hope that you will contribute by sharing your knowledge and expertise by discussing recent issues.

We are confident that you will enjoy these next days.

Yours sincerely,

Berlin is one of the most fascinating and attractive cities in Europe and as capital of the reunified Germany it has been, and still is, rapidly developing.

It harbours many famous museums and galleries as well as concert halls, theaters, restaurants and pubs, and is the traditional link between the East- and WestEuropean cultures.

The city´s unique atmosphere and its wealth of attractions will play their part in making your stay here an unforgettable event.

The venue for the EUROSPINE 2016 is the new CityCube Berlin, a multifunctional building for trade fairs, conferences and events which was completed in May 2014.

Hans-Joachim Wilke Peter Vajkoczy Michael Putzier

With two main floors, numerous conference rooms and the southern section of the exhibition grounds nearby, this venue provides the perfect setting for our conference.

It is EUROSPINE’s goal and passion to prepare a high level conference and provide an open and friendly atmosphere for communication among experts coming from all areas around the world.

It is my great honour to welcome you to the EUROSPINE 2016 congress in Berlin. Founded in 1998 as a merger of the European Spine Society and the European Spinal Deformity Society, EUROSPINE, the Spine Society of Europe experienced a strong growth regarding members, activities and participants at annual meetings.

During the last 10 years, the number of spine specialists attending the meetings had more than doubled. Regarding activities, our main focus for the last years was on education and research, as well as on strengthening the relationship with our stakeholders. With EuSSAB, the European Spine Societies Advisory Board, we recently created a platform to foster excellence in spine care by sharing knowledge and visions for the future, and by coordinating education plans, between the national spine societies in Europe.

EUROSPINE Berlin will be a perfect place to exchange your knowledge with your colleagues in Europe and all over the world.

Our local hosts in Berlin will be Hans Joachim Wilke, Michael Putzier and Peter Vajkoczy.

Together with our local hosts and many other EUROSPINE officers, the programme committee, our administrative staff and our PCO Conventus , we have been working hard to make EUROSPINE 2016 in Berlin a very successful and memorable meeting for you. On behalf of our local hosts and EUROSPINE, I would like to once again welcome you to Berlin and wish you an exciting, interesting and joyful conference!

We look forward to meeting you personally at EUROSPINE 2016 in Berlin.

Michael Ogon President EUROSPINE

CONGRESS VENUE CCB - CityCube Berlin Messedamm 26 14055 Berlin, Germany

As in recent years, EUROSPINE 2016 in Berlin includes premeetings, instructional courses, blinded selected best abstracts, debates, lunch symposia and e-posters. Beyond a great academic forum that will give you the latest update on spine research and treatment options,

ISSUE 1 /// WEDNESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2016 /// EUROSPINE2016.EU

HISTORY AND FACTS ABOUT BERLIN

MEDICAL BERLIN

CONGRESS BAG

Berlin stands out as a congress capital with over 131,000 events per year. 15% of these conventions deal with the areas of medicine, science and research.

This year, Freeset was chosen to supply eco-friendly, quality congress bags. Usually this alone would not be relevant enough to put your focus on this rather common seeming piece of cloth.

Berlin is home to world famous hospitals such as the Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin or the German Heart Centre.

These clinics and many other hospitals offer top-class medical treatments to German citizens and foreigners alike. Berlin has a strong tradition as a healthcare and scientific centre. More than a dozen Nobel Prize winners have worked here, including researches like Rudolf Virchow and Robert Koch.

Berlin is known around the world for a variety of things.

We collected a few facts. Did you know that ...

• Berlin is Germany’s no. 1 tourist destination? More than twelve million visitors travelled to Berlin in 2015.

They spent 30.25 million nights in the city.

• Berlin is one of the few cities to have three UNESCO World Heritage sites? In addition to the Museum Island and the Prussian royal palaces and gardens, Berlin’s modernist housing estates received the designation in 2008. The German capital has also been named a “UNESCO City of Design”, making Berlin a part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

• Berlin is the only city in the world with three active opera houses? The Deutsche Oper, the Staatsoper on Unter den Linden and the Komische Oper together can welcome more than 4,800 people to their performances. Berlin also has around 150 theatres and stages offering performances in all genres.

• Berlin is the only European city that has more museums than rainy days? There are on average 106.3 rainy days each year, while the city boasts around 180 museums. Berlin’s museums, memorials and exhibition halls registered 17.2 million visitors in 2012 alone.

• The Gemäldegalerie, opened in 1998, combines the extensive collections once

held in the Bode Museum (formerly in the East) and in Dahlem (in the West)?

• 500,000 tourists are in Berlin every day? This is roughly the population of the city of Hanover. This equals 171 million days of stay of tourists in Berlin.

• Berlin has more than 440 galleries devoted to modernist and contemporary art, making it the largest gallery city in all of Europe? Some 5,000 visual artists make Berlin their home.

• The world’s largest universal museum stands in the heart of Berlin? The renovation and reorganisation of the Museum Island with its five monumental buildings that have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1999 is post-war Germany’s most ambitious cultural project yet. The €1.5 billion master plan for the Museum Island includes renovation of all the island’s buildings that will include state-of-theart technology in each.

Following the example of the Louvre in Paris, the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg and the British Museum in London, the buildings will be connected via a giant underground complex. Above ground, the individual museums will retain their separate entrances.

The Alte Nationalgalerie, the BodeMuseum and the Neues Museum have already been renovated; the latter is home to the Egyptian Museum with its world-famous bust of Nefertiti.

But Freeset is a fair trade organization, offering employment to women who were trapped in

Kolkata’s sex trade. Each one of the conference bags is handsewn and offers a step towards freedom and self-termination to many of the victims. Through a reasonable salary plus health insurance and pension plans Freeset offers the victims of sex trade a new chance towards a brighter future - one bag at a time.

8,700 doctors treat 814,000 patients in the 80 hospitals around the city every year. Especially Russian and Arab guests enjoy the facilities in Berlin – 21,000 health tourists were treated in 2015 and this number continues to grow.

EUROSPINE BOOTH There are numerous supportive services offered at the new EUROSPINE Booth and Members’ Lounge.

The EUROSPINE team will be happy to assist you and answer your queries as well as outline the great advantages and benefits of a membership.

Photo Booth promotion - Photos are always a nice-to-have – be it to have a professional picture as a good first impression or have a lasting memory of a international conference. Take your picture using our fun EUROSPINE and Berlin themed accessories as unique memory of your visit!

It might just come in handy for the World Spine Day on 16

October. Additionally, each photo will enter a raffle to win a free registration for the EUROSPINE Annual Meeting 2017 in Dublin. Also you can come and have your professional picture taken for personal use.

With the voucher attached to your event badge, you can collect your USB Abstract Book flash drive that will provide you with all abstracts in a very convenient format.

The exclusive Members’ Lounge will offer you hot and cold drinks as well as snacks while you can follow the interesting programme in the plenary hall via live feed.

Join us for a coffee to relax and get to know colleagues in a casu-

WORLD SPINE DAY 2016 EUROSPINE is proud to announce that it is, for the first time this year, an Official Supporter of the World Spine Day, taking place on 16 October 2016. The World Spine Day was created to raise awareness about spinal disorders as part of the Bone and Joint Decade’s Action Week.

We want to highlight the importance of physical activity and improving posture as part of good spinal health and the

prevention of injury. Around the globe, events will foster the understanding of the relevance of this issue, and fundraisers will collect for organisations which are engaged in improving the treatment of patients as well as supporting research.

al fashion, before or in between sessions.

If you completed your TFR Course with us or want to celebrate your new membership status with us please also use the opportunity of the Cocktail Reception for New Members and TFR Course Alumni on Wednesday 5 October 2016, 17:30h, and use this opportunity to get to know the big EUROSPINE Family!

Spine Tango, the international spine registry will also be represented at the EUROSPINE Booth. If you already have questions regarding our EUROSPINE 2017 Congress taking place in Dublin – organizers will be happy to answer all your questions!

ISSUE 1 /// WEDNESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2016 /// EUROSPINE2016.EU

BERLIN - CITY OF CULTURE

As a classical music metropolis, Berlin ranks first. Renowned musicians and singers from all over the world perform regularly in Berlin or have moved to the city on the River Spree. Berlin has no less than three opera houses. Numerous productions from a variety of periods belong to the repertoires of the Deutsche Oper, Komische Oper, and the Staatsoper, the latter under the artistic direction of none other than Daniel Barenboim. The Staatsoper will probably remain housed in the Schillertheater in Charlottenburg until the summer of 2017, while its main venue at Unter den Linden is currently being extensively restored. The reopening ceremony has been planned for 3 October 2017.

Eight symphony orchestras complement the variety on

offer in Berlin. The Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra is housed in the Konzerthaus am Gendarmenmarkt in what was previously East Berlin and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra was established in 1963 near the Potsdamer Platz in former West Berlin. The latter has 2,250 seats and provides an exceptional auditory experience due to Hans Scharoun’s architectural design.

The Berlin Philharmonic – one of the world’s finest orchestras – is at home here. Illustrious names such as Wilhelm Furtwängler, Herbert von Karajan and Claudio Abbado have been responsible for its development. In 2019, Kirill Petrenko will succeed his colleague Sir Simon Rattle as its principal conductor.

The entertainment on offer in around 150 theatres and stages is

extremely broad. The repertoires of public and private theatres extend from productions of ancient tragedies to the most recent contemporary works.

The renown of the large theatre companies and their actors extends far beyond the limits of the city. The Deutsche Theater, the Schaubühne and the Berliner Ensemble are still in the process of making theatre history. The latter is primarily associated with the name of Bertolt Brecht, who established his ensemble in 1949. The Volksbühne usually provides theatre that is more confrontational, more progressive. The Maxim Gorki theatre primarily presents the contemporary concerns of the city and current political issues on the stage. The novelty here is that all performances are shown with

English surtitles. In respect of the other theatres, a look at their scheduled programme can be rewarding – as they also provide English surtitles from time to time.

The annual highlight for theatre fans is the Berlin Theatertreffen.

Since 1964, thousands of theatre professionals, journalists and guests from the around the world meet in Berlin, every year in May. During the festival, the ten most noteworthy theatre productions from all the German-speaking countries are staged.

London has its West End, New York has Broadway, and Berlin its East End. In the area between Bahnhof Friedrichstrasse, Unter den Linden and Hackescher Markt, four traditional venues have come together to form a new theatre district. The Quatsch Comedy Club, the Distel Cabaret Theatre, Friedrichstadtpalast and the Chamäleon Theatre offer the very best entertainment in Berlin’s Mitte district. In this area of the capital that has the highest number of theatres, visitors can experience captivating cabaret and comedy evenings, dance, revue, variety shows and sensational stage productions every night of the week. An integral part of one of the most lavish productions in the Friedrichstadtpalast is the longest chorus line in the world, in which 32 dancers swing their

BURNING QUESTIONS

lovely long legs in the air. In contrast, the New Circus is at home in the Chamäleon Theatre.

Here, guest companies from Germany, Australia and the Czech Republic combine acrobatics, bare skin and performance art.

Outside its East End, Berlin offers even more entertainment in all of its facets. The shows in the Wintergarten draw on the magnificent variety shows that were once held in this venue at the end of the 19th century. In the Bar Jeder Vernunft and in the Tipi am Kanzleramt, chanson and jazz concerts are held, as well as regular performances by stars of the cabaret and comedy scene in an incomparably intimate atmosphere.

Great musical productions are on show at the Theater des Westens as well as the Theater am Potsdamer Platz. One of the most successful productions in Berlin is the Blue Man Group. Since their Berlin premiere in 2004, the group has delighted more than 2 million viewers at this Berlin venue which is unique in Europe.

The dynamic and humorous show resides at the Bluemax Theater on the Marlene-Dietrich-Platz. It functions almost without words and is accordingly a real treat for foreign visitors.

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This issue of The Spine Times includes tow burning questions for the readers that feature an interactive voting process.

SPINEART SECURED A EUR 30 MILLION INVESTMENT FROM GIMV Berlin, 05 October 2016

1. Would the official acceptance of „spinal surgery“ as a medical subspecialty affect your practice in a positive direction?

To participate, please use the EUROSPINE smartphone app (available at app.eurospine.org).

The results will be shown in tomorrow’s issue.

2. Given the high rate of potential complications, do you think surgery for spinal deformity in elderly patients is worthwhile?

Spineart announces that it secured a EUR 30 million investment from Gimv. These proceeds will be used to reinforce the company’s sales organization and processes, for further geographical expansion in selective markets such as Europe, the US, and other strategic markets, as well as for continued development of innovative and disruptive products. „Gimv is the partner we need to reach the next level. Its Health & Care team’s experience in accompanying fast growing companies will help to reach Spineart’s ambitious goals. Therefore, we are very pleased to have them on board and are excited to write together the next chapter in Spineart’s history,“ said Jérôme Levieux and Stéphane Mugnier-Jabob, co-founders and co-CEOs of Spineart.

Gimv is an investment company with over three decades experience in private equity and venture capital, listed on Euronext Brussels. The company identifies entrepreneurial and innovative companies with high-growth potential and supports them in their transformation into market leaders, and currently manages around 1.8 billion EUR of investments.

Peter Byloos, Partner in Gimv’s Health & Care team, comments: “Spine surgery is an attractive global market offering plenty of room for challengers such as Spineart. Next to its broad product portfolio and recognized European brand, the company differentiates itself by a strong focus on product innovation and full R&D pipeline. We look forward to share our expertise in the field of Building Companies and International Operations with Spineart’s experienced and committed leadership team”.

More information: www.gimv.com www.spineart.com

ISSUE 1 /// WEDNESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2016 /// EUROSPINE2016.EU

MUSEUMS BERLIN building is to be appropriately renovated in accordance with the original plans and extended by the addition of a new museum building. Excellent exhibitions of contemporary art can also be seen at the Hamburger Bahnhof, in which railway tracks refer to the history of the building, as well as the Martin-Gropius-Bau and the Berlinische Galerie. Photographic works are exclusively shown in the C/O Berlin exhibition space and the Museum für Fotografie with an emphasis on the work of fashion photographer Helmut Newton. Both venues are located next to the Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten.

Important works of art from all periods, as well as promising new artistic perspectives, can be viewed every day in Berlin in more than 180 museums and around 440 galleries. The Berlin Museum Island is the largest ensemble of museums in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Alte Museum, the Neue Museum, the Alte Nationalgalerie, the Bode Museum and the Pergamon Museum were built between 1830 and 1930, and their collections preserve more than 6,000 years of art history and cultural history.

Nearly four million visitors come here annually to see highlights such as the bust of Nefertiti, the numismatic collection or paintings and sculptures from the Renaissance and Romanticism – including the most famous works of Caspar David Friedrich. In the midst of the various buildings, the James-Simon-Galerie is being built in accordance with plans designed by architect David Chipperfield. The building will serve as the entrance building for all visitors from 2018. The most-visited building on the Museum Island is the Pergamon Museum that exhibits world cultural treasures, such as the Pergamon Altar. However, this will probably remain inaccessible to visitors until 2019 due to extensive renovation work. The same applies to the north wing and the Hellenistic art hall. The south wing of the museum with the Ishtar Gate, the Processional Way, the Market Gate of Miletus, and the Museum of Islamic Art are still open.

in which non-European art will also be exhibited in a modern museum behind a baroque facade. Furthermore, at the Kulturforum near the Potsdamer Platz, the Neue Nationalgalerie – the home of modern art in Berlin – is currently being renovated.

The glass building, designed by the renowned architect Mies van der Rohe, was built in 1968 and will probably remain closed until the renovations are completed in 2020. The adjacent museums, such as the Kunstgewerbemuseum, the Musical Instrument Museum and the Gemäldegalerie as well as the Kupferstichkabinett, will continue showing worldclass paintings from Dürer to Caravaggio as well as fashion and design exhibitions in the Kulturforum. The state-of-theart architectural facility is to be further enhanced by the addition of a museum of modern art, which will then also be able to house large private collections of 20th century art from Dix to Mattheuer and up to Beuys.

The opening of this museum is planned for 2021.

The Museum Island is not the only museum environment in Berlin undergoing profound changes.

Currently, the Berlin City Palace is being rebuilt between the Berlin Cathedral and the Rotes Rathaus. In 2019, the so-called Humboldt Forum will be opened

The Museum of Design and the associated Bauhaus Archive, which house the world’s largest collection in the history of the school of design and architecture, will also be extended. To mark the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus movement in 2019, the

Berlin has had an eventful history which can be seen at museums like the Deutsches Historisches Museum and the Mauermuseum at Checkpoint Charlie. The Jewish Museum takes a look at 2000 years of German-Jewish history – with all its highs and lows. Various relevant art exhibitions are shown in the building designed by star architect Daniel Libeskind.

near Checkpoint Charlie. And there is even far more to discover: Germany‘s first football museum in Berlin-Lichtenberg, the Dalí Museum at Potsdamer Platz, the Computerspielemuseum and Europe‘s first museum of Urban Art all bear witness to the diversity of Berlin’s museums.

The medium of film, when it was still young, established a long tradition in Berlin with illustrious names from the UFA era, such as Marlene Dietrich, Ernst Lubitsch and Fritz Lang. Early films, like “Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis” by Walther Ruttmann from 1927 or “People on Sunday” from 1930, already recorded the pulsating life of Berlin in an impressive manner. The Filmmuseum Berlin at Potsdamer Platz takes visitors on a journey through the entire history of German film and includes a permanent exhibition of items from Marlene Dietrich’s estate.

The Deutsches Currywurst Museum proves that, despite the almost 180 museums the city has on offer, there are still niches to be filled. Anyone who has ever wondered what the ingredients of the famous Berlin cult snack are will discover historical, cultural and edible visual material in the exhibition

And this just keeps increasing: so that the German Spy Museum was recently opened.

Probably the world’s sweetest exhibition can now be seen in the Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin at Gleisdreieck. At the end of 2015, the Sugar Museum moved there. And the Deutsches Technikmuseum keeps growing; in the long term, the collection and the location are to become the modern Technoversum.

Warehouses of the former Anhalter freight yard have already been converted into museum areas for this purpose. The first new exhibition “The Network – People, Cables, Data Streams” has already been opened.

MOST IMPORTANT PHRASES IN GERMAN Guten Morgen – Good morning Guten Abend – Good evening Auf Wiedersehen - Goodbye Zum Wohl / Prost – Cheers (toast used when drinking) Mahlzeit – Have a good meal Wünsche einen guten Tag – Have a nice day Danke – Thank you FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER

To stay up-to-date, like us on facebook.com/EUROSPINE and follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/EUROSPINESoc).

Please use the official congress hashtag #EUROSPINE2016 for tweets about the conference.

AUDIENCE RESPONSE SYSTEM How to participate in interactive votings 1. Download and start the app: All versions are available at http://app.eurospine.org.

The app will automatically download the latest data on its first launch.

2. Select ARS from the main menu: To participate in interactive votings, you need an internet connection (WiFi). If your WiFi is not working, the app will switch

to voting via text messages (roaming costs may apply).

3. Select the voting session: Please select the session on which you intend to vote.

4. Vote: When the speaker asks you to vote, please choose the proper button according to the instructions shown on the screen. The time to vote is limited for each question.

ISSUE 1 /// WEDNESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2016 /// EUROSPINE2016.EU

GROWING STRONGER TOGETHER Now more than 1000 members strong, EUROSPINE is working together with other national societies, stakeholders and industry to standardise education programmes, take research to the next level and – above all – improve the care and the lives of persons afflicted with spinal disorders.

During my year as President of EUROSPINE, our Society has undergone remarkable transition.

My predecessors, Haluk Berk, Phil Sell, Ferran Pellisé, JeanCharles Le Huec and colleagues set the ball rolling when they developed the Way Forward Strategy – a plan to deliver a state-of-the-art educational and scientific programme, while focussing on patient care and bringing together all spine-related stakeholders across Europe.

ACHIEVING RECORD GROWTH In the last five years, EUROSPINE’s membership base has more than doubled. With the introduction of new member categories “Young Members”, “Institutional Members” and “Associate Members”, combined with a number of initiatives to make EUROSPINE even more attractive to members, we have now grown to become one of the largest spine societies in Europe.

FORGING STRONG ALLIANCES The European Spine Societies Advisory Board (EuSSAB) has proven an exceptional platform for national societies to collaborate on mutual issues. Since its inception in 2014, 25 spine societies have joined, adding more than 6850 associate members to our Society. Together with EuSSAB and other organisations, such as EFFORT, EBOT and EANS, we are continuing our efforts to establish an accredited “European Spine Certification”.

CULTIVATING EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION This year we transitioned all educational activities from the EUROSPINE Foundation (ESF) back under the auspices of the Society, offering partners, members and course participants a single point of contact on all educational matters.

We redesigned the European Spine Course Diploma (ESCD), launching it successfully at our Education Week in Strasbourg

EUROSPINE WAY FORWARD STRATEGY – ON TRACK FOR THE FUTURE in October. Furthermore, we entered into a bilateral agreement with the German Spine Society (DWG) to harmonise the structure of Spine Diploma Courses and recognise diploma equivalence.

FOSTERING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT The TFR continually awards large grants to carefully selected, highquality studies. TFR courses are also a great success. Over the past 5 years we have educated more than 70 researchers from 32 countries.

CREATING HIGHVALUE LEARNING AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES EUROSPINE meetings have become an even broader platform for sharing innovation and research. Based on delegates’ feedback, we continually redesign and improve our programmes to offer members and stakeholders cutting-edge educational and scientific content and invaluable networking opportunities.

At this year’s Annual Meeting in Berlin, we have set another record with the receipt more than 1000 abstract submissions, demonstrating the growing prestige of EUROSPINE on the European (and world) stage.

Our Spring Specialty Meetings, although smaller, have gained a dedicated following thanks to highly-positive feedback from participants.

REFINING ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE Last year we successfully restructured the internal organisation of EUROSPINE to streamline decision-making and give each committee a direct voice in the ExCom. Beat Leimbacher, our former strategic advisor, has taken over the role of Delegate of the ExCom to manage the increasingly complex business aspects of the Society. In June 2016, Julie-Lyn Noël, MD MBA, joined EUROSPINE as Director of Education and Research, undertaking the management and development of a comprehensive education platform, course activities and education/research projects in cooperation with the Education Committee and Task Force Research.

Our Director of Administration, Judith Reichert, has played an important role in overseeing all of these administrative changes and ensuring the continued smooth operations of our organisation and our meeting activities.

INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE

BERLIN 2016 – SETTING NEW RECORDS

As in the start-up phase of any new endeavour, the realisation of our many accomplishments over the past year has not come without significant financial investment.

It is indeed reassuring to see that our hard work and expenditures are already reaping the benefits as our Society continues to develop and grow stronger.

In order to cope with the ever-decreasing availability of funding as budgets are tightened and competition for funding becomes more intense, we must review and prioritise all activities and continue to improve our efficiency.

We will have to focus on making activities and offerings even more attractive to members and stakeholders. To that end, new and fresh ideas to ensure ongoing attractiveness and diversify our sources of income are welcome.

The EUROSPINE Annual Meeting has set a record for the 2nd year running, receiving over 1000 abstract submissions.

SETTING UP FOR LONGTERM SUCCESS I am delighted with the progress EUROSPINE has made over the past year and the many milestones we have achieved.

Serving as President as EUROSPINE has been an honour and I look forward to continuing our efforts to help our Society to realise its potential as the leading spine society in Europe.

I wish to extend my warmest thanks to the Executive Committee (ExCom) and Society committees – Education, Task Force Research, Membership, Spine Tango and Patient Line – for their hard work and tireless dedication.

I also wish to recognise our EUROSPINE team, Judith Reichert, JulieLyn Noël, Anna Faber, Conny Schmutzer, Claudia Ortner, Letizia Lamartina and Beat Leimbacher, for their invaluable contributions.

And last, but definitely not least, I want to thank you, our members, for your ongoing support and for making EUROSPINE a truly successful Society.

content to select from, we can promise you a high quality, diverse programme covering the entire spectrum of spine issues, including surgical, non-surgical and research.

STRINGENT SELECTION CRITERIA This year we improved the abstract submission process, making it more user-friendly.

Each abstract co-author is required to complete a declaration of interest with their submission. In order to further ensure a reliable and effective evaluation process, we also introduced a refined, more detailed scoring system.

ENRICHED SCIENTIFIC CONTENT

Stavros Stavridis Chair, Programme 2016

Committee

For all who have an interest in spine health, treatment and care, Berlin 2016 is the congress for you. Benefit from our rich scientific programme, learn about the latest advances in research and treatments, take part in lively debates and network with the finest minds in spine care from all over the world.

RECORD NUMBER OF ABSTRACTS RECEIVED Our Annual Meeting is considered a leading platform for sharing innovation and the latest research in the treatment of spinal disorders, and Berlin will be no exception! This year, for the second year in a row, we received a record number of abstract submissions, totalling more than 1000. With such rich scientific

IWe have increased the basic science content of our meeting by presenting more abstracts and incorporating them into relevant clinical sessions. Furthermore, we have restructured the Pre-day Meeting and Lunch Symposia to represent all aspects of spinal care. We have also made our delegate survey more detailed, to ensure we collect comprehensive feedback.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT We are continuously striving to make our meetings, both the Annual General Meeting and our smaller, but highlyregarded Spring Specialty Meeting an international forum where spine care professionals can meet, exchange ideas and improve the lives of people with spinal problems. We hope you enjoy your time in Berlin and look forward to receiving your feedback!

PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS 5TH OCTOBER 2016 8:30 OPENING, WELCOME ADDRESS AND INTRODUCTION TO SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME 8:40-10:00 ADULT DEFORMITY 10:30-12:00 DEBATES 12:00 LUNCH SYMPOSIA: FROM RESEARCH TO CLINICAL PRACTICE; CERVICAL SPINE SURGERY – WHAT TO DO WHEN THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS

Michael Ogon, President of EUROSPINE 2015-16

17:30 WELCOME RECEPTION

ISSUE 1 /// WEDNESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2016 /// EUROSPINE2016.EU

5 YEARS OF SPINE TIMES

HIGHLIGHTS DURING LAST YEAR OF EUROSPINE

EUROSPINE APP

We are happy and proud to celebrate 5 years of The Spine Times, the official conference newspaper of EUROSPINE. With 15 different issues, relevant information about the congress, the host cities, strategic reports on the future of EUROSPINE, interviews with experts and reports of events were published - a total of 70.000 words and countless pictures.

The EUROSPINE Annual Meeting 2015 successfully took place in Copenhagen, in October 2015.

More than 3,500 participants enjoyed a diverse scientific programme. The Annual Meeting offered the ideal platform for networking opportunities with colleagues from all over Europe and beyond, and it resulted in a lively exchange of new research results.

Have the most relevant and upto-date conference information at hand!

Overall 45,000 newspapers were distributed to spine professionals during the annual meetings .

We are looking forward to your feedback – with a focus on what you think we should write about - as well as many more successful years to come.

At this point EUROSPINE would like to thank Emre Acaroglu, Thomas Blattert and Dominique Rothenfluh for their great work as on-site editors of The Spine Times. Their inspiring ideas, great proof-reading capabilities and burning questions were essential for the creation of this newspaper and its success.

IMPRINT

The Spine Times® is a free congress newspaper published by EUROSPINE. Publishing House: EUROSPINE, The Spine Society of Europe Judith Reichert Schild Seefeldstrasse 16 8610 Uster-Zürich, Switzerland

Michael Ogon took over as President of EUROSPINE from Haluk Berk. As the tradition demands, the newly elected president invited the ExCom Members to Vienna for the yearly strategy meeting where the Way Forwards Strategy was concretised and the goals for 2016’s EUROSPINE were defined.

At the Spring Specialty Meeting in Kraków, in the middle of May 2016, the topic of “Trauma and Emergency Spine Surgery: Past, Present and Future“ was the focus of inspiring presentations.

The response of the participants about this meeting was very positive.

Once again, during the Education Week 2016 in Strasbourg, many of the course participants achieved the European Spine Course Diploma composed of five different modules.

Many experts took part in the TFR Basic Biomechanics & Biomechanical Methods for Experimental Research of the Musculoskeletal System in Ulm, in July as well. We are already looking forward to the next TFR Research Course 2017 in Munich.

COCKTAIL RECEPTION FOR NEW MEMBERS AND TFR COURSE ALUMNI EUROSPINE has the pleasure to invite new members and alumni to the Cocktail Reception at the EUROSPINE booth.

Not only will you be able to easily access scientific and logistical congress information (e.g. programme, speakers, sessions, congress venue,...), but you will also be able to participate in interactive votings, bookmark your favorite sessions and access the exclusive e-version of “The Spine Times”.

Free WIFI is available within the entire congress venue.

Download the EUROSPINE app for all smartphones and tablets from http://app.eurospine.org.

• • • •

Meet members of the EUROSPINE Board Get to know the EUROSPINE Membership Committee New members receive their official EUROSPINE Membership Certificate Meet old and make new friends

Traditionally every year, new members join existing ones at the annual general meeting. In order to get to know new members personally and facilitate collaboration and networking between those groups, we have established this reception.

Please join us for some drinks and snacks during the official Opening and Welcome Reception!

Contact: info@eurospine.org Tel. +41 44 - 994 14 04 Fax +41 44 - 994 14 03

Photographs: Martin Steiger, Mario Habenbacher, Christian Lendl

Managing Editor: Stefanie Hannover

Publishers: Michael Ogon (President of EUROSPINE) Editors in Chief: Emre Acaroğlu, Thomas Blattert, Dominique A. Rotenfluh

5 Great Reasons to join EUROSPINE Members are the heart of EUROSPINE. Our society is fortunate to have a membership base of experts in spine care who are at the cutting edge of new technologies, procedures and practices. As part of our new “Way Forward” strategy, we are currently taking a number of steps to simplify and improve membership processes and communications. In addition, we are implementing regular member surveys to ensure that our members are always heard and that smart ideas are implemented.

To realize our goal of providing services to spine care professionals from diverse disciplines, cultures and countries, EUROSPINE is seeking to expand its membership base. This growth will not only benefit members as a whole, as new ideas and concepts come to light, but will also increase EUROSPINE’s political influence as an advocate for spine issues. EUROSPINE members enjoy a number of benefits:

Contributors: Anna Faber, Felix Degeler, Alexander Hinteregger, Beat Leimbacher, Arno Leporano, Judith Reichert, Conny Schmutzer, Michael Wieland (Editorial Design)

WHEN: Wednesday, 5 October 2016, 17:30-18:30h WHERE: EUROSPINE booth, Exhibition Hall (Hall B) This event is by invitation only!

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Meetings, Courses & Workshops EUROSPINE members pay a reduced fee to attend the Annual Meeting, which is a well-established networking event presenting innovative scientific discussions of primary interest to all spine specialists. In addition, we’re planning to further diversify our meeting activities with short specialised events in order to meet more sub-speciality demands.

Education & Research Our members receive preferred and prioritized access to EUROSPINE’s education and research activities.

EUROSPINE is constantly looking for new opportunities to provide education on the best patient care and prevention of spinal diseases. In contrast to other spine organisations, EUROSPINE’s education program also offers more than academics, including live educational events and webcasts. EUROSPINE provides research grants and offers seminars on research skills.

Expertise EUROSPINE keeps you informed of the latest developments in spine care and provides assessments

of current techniques and treatments, as well as “best practice” spine-related learning and research.

The European Spine Registry offers our members the opportunity to benchmark data on the quality and effectiveness of patient treatments, while Patient Line provides important information to patients in 6 languages.

Committees & Activities Members are strongly encouraged to become involved in EUROSPINE activities and to participate on committees (e.g. presenter, faculty, committee member).

Committee participation involves extensive teamwork, allowing members to share their expertise and learn from other professionals.

Networking Develop a network and exchange ideas with leading spine experts in a multi-disciplinary environment. Our events and committees offer great opportunities for expanding your contacts on a professional level while developing friendships with like-minded colleagues in Europe and all over the world.

www.eurospine.org