International Committee

International Committee Report

The International Committee (IC) held its third 2021 regular bimonthly meeting on May 10, 2021. Our guest speaker at this meeting was Jim Loeffler, Biomedical Advisor for CURE International. Jim described CURE’s projects worldwide, including several pediatric hospitals in low-resource countries. We discussed possible collaborations between CURE and ACCE, including helping ACCE to identify potential collaborating professional associations in the countries where CURE have staff and projects. In return, IC members offered assistance to CURE in introducing CURE visitors to premier pediatric hospitals in the US and in equipment service information or training.

IC is happy to report that the collaboration and mutual assistance agreement with the Ghana Society of Biomedical Engineers (GSBE) was approved by ACCE Board and signed by both parties. IC also delivered a webinar entitled “Clinical Engineering – An Overview” for university students of Biomedical Engineering in Argentina in collaboration with the Argentinian Society of Biomedical Engineering (SABI) on Mar 26, 2021. A post-webinar survey showed it was well received by both students and professionals there.

As the COVID-19 pandemic is still prevalent in most parts of the world, and the progress of vaccination is quite slow worldwide, it is likely international travels and in-person meetings and conferences will be severely limited in the next 12-18 months. Therefore, IC is putting together a list of webinars that its members and other ACCE members are able to and interested in delivering to foreign colleagues and students. This list will be sent to the foreign associations with which ACCE has established collaboration and mutual assistance agreements for them to review and consider. Once mutually agreed, the webinars will be delivered online and recorded for post-event viewing for those who missed it.

IC now has a vacancy due to the departure of Kevin Taylor, who has assumed additional work-related responsibilities. ACCE members who are interested in participating in the IC are encouraged to contact Binseng Wang with their resume and statement of interest.

Binseng Wang, IC Chair International.chair@accenet.org

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would include a disproportionate number who are graduates of UCONN's CE master degree and internship program.

Frank has had a diverse clinical engineering career. He has led clinical engineering departments, operated a consulting practice including clinical engineering and forensic engineering (e.g., medical device accident investigations), and completed many clinical engineering -related projects, papers and presentations.

Frank was awarded the 2016 American College of Clinical Engineering Lifetime Achievement Award, for exceptional and sustained contributions to the clinical engineering profession; the 2011 Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, Clinical/Biomedical Engineering Achievement Award; and the Marvin D. Shepherd Patient Safety Award for contributions to the advancement of patient safety.

Frank has dedicated most of his professional life to the field of clinical engineering. Many clinical engineers and health technology managers in the US and around the world look to him for his outstanding teaching and mentoring. The influence and impact of Frank’s work has set an example for professionals in the field of healthcare technology, both in the academic side and in the operational side of the day-to-day operations in health care facilities. The impact of Frank’s work is far reaching and has influenced health authorities and professionals around the world, professionals who have become leaders and decision makers in the field of health technology. For example, Frank’s participation in the academic sector has facilitated the organization and orientation of biomedical and clinical engineering programs in several universities, mainly in Latin America and the Middle East. Also, he has facilitated the participation of international students in the Clinical Engineering Internship Program at the University of Connecticut.”

For more information on Frank’s long, outstanding career see link.

Jim Keller Chair, ACCE Hall of Fame Committee ce-hof@accenet.org