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Dear Colleagues and Friends, On behalf of the organizing committee of the society of Asian-Australasian Federation of Interventional Neuroradiology, I would like to express my deepest gratitude for the opportunity to present this presidential address. First of all I want to express my sincere congratulations to President George Wong on your wonderful management and organization of the 15th congress of the AAFITN. Due to the COVID disaster, the last meeting in Seoul was held in a full-on-line style, and that meeting had to be postponed for one year because of the unrecoverable condition of the worlds infectious state and the related one year shift of the WFITN. Yet finally, this day which everyone has eagerly waited for has come today. We are completely released from the strict obligation of mask wearing and social distancing. I hope all participants can enjoy this meeting’s wonderful presentations and passionate discussions without any worries.Please allow me to briefly review the history of the AAFITN. Our Federation was founded in 1994 by Professor Ling Feng to promote the practice, education, and development of interventional and therapeutic neuroradiology in Asia and Australasia. In the early stages, the number of published papers was very small, however the quality of these papers was remarkably ambitious and sometimes very eccentric. Although our society started with a limited number of countries at first, we have seen continuous expansion and successfully won over the participation of many neighboring friends. This year we can welcome three new council members from Sri Lanka, Mongolia and Nepal. I expect the continuation of more new countries joining us in the future. I would like to emphasize another recent exciting change of our society. It is diversity. As you know we are experiencing a remarkable increase in female interventionists, and this like other departments is without exception in neuro-intervention. This is a welcomed trend which surely helps to develop our field the form of fostering flexible management and expanding planning capacity as well as to promoting the concept of equal-opportunity for both genders. Another point of diversity is the growing variety of our specialty. The very name of our society includes the broad title of “therapeutic neuroradiology” which originated from endovascular therapy coined by the pioneers of neuroradiologists. However, recently many aneurysm embolizations are performed by neurosurgeons, and mechanical thrombectomy by vascular neurologists. Even in this meeting we can find a lot of presenters from various fields. I think this diversity is important for expanding our possibility to encompass on a broader range of occasions for treating emergency or tough cases and for expanding interdisciplinary team responsibilities which could lead to more balanced work-life. Next I would like to mention the importance of Asia. As you know more than 65% of the world population is concentrated in our Asian-Australasian region. And the Asian GPT is currently the top in the world, consisting of about 60 % of the share. Also neuroendovascular therapy has been experiencing an increasing demand from the immense patient population in our part of the world. In spite of such an endowed condition which currently occupies the top market share, we should also be aware that we are working in the most powerful and highly expected region. By the way, the Asian Championship games held in Hangzhou just closed. According to the results of each event we can see that the finishing times and level of Asian records are gradually close to those of other world records. It surely suggests that Asian athletes tend to be less and less inferior in physical ability compared to typical western tough guys. As well we are also closing in on the western countries in the academic and marketing fields. It is now common for new devices to be invented in Asia and delivered throughout the world and a great deal of high level published clinical studies are successively reported from Asia. Here at this meeting through active participation and interchange of our clinical experiences, we can challenge to go beyond our borders. I trust and know that we are a deeply inter-connected group of dedicated strong-willed individuals. We also have a great potential power to develop and expand further. I believe this meeting will be a milestone for directing our bright future. Let’s continue to pursue the development of our great society with friendship, cooperation and positive actions and attitudes among all members. Finally, I wish to express my whole-hearted appreciation for the generous cooperation and sincere contributions from all members of the AAFITN. Once again, I would like to offer my deepest thanks to George and all of the Hong Kong staff. Thank you very much. With warmest regards, Prof Shigeru Miyachi President of AAFITN, Professor and Chairman of Department of Neurological Surgery, Aichi Medical University |
Dear Colleagues and Friends, On behalf of the organizing committee and council members of the Asian-Australian Federation Of Interventional and Therapeutic Neuroradiology (AAFITN), I would like to extend our warm welcome to each and every one to the 15th Biennale Congress of AAFITN from 13th to 15th October 2023 in beautiful and vibrant Hong Kong.The organizing chairman Prof George Wong and Dr William W.L. Poon, President of the Hong Kong Society of Interventional and Therapeutic Neuroradiology (HKSITN) have put up a very exciting and stimulating program that promises to be not just stimulating but enlightening gathering of minds in our field. Of course, it is a great time to meet and greet friends from near and far and those we have not met for some time due to the pandemic. Over the 3 days, we have the unique opportunity to come together as a community of professionals, scholars, and enthusiasts in the field of Interventional and Therapeutic Neuroradiology and share dedication to the pursuit of knowledge and innovation has brought us here, uniting us in a common purpose—to explore, collaborate, and advance the frontiers of our field. We all know of the differences and gaps pertaining to the diverse situation in region from multiplicity of religion, political, economic, and ethical standpoints, but we must not loose sight of the main goals of delivering the best for our patients. We should persevere to join hands to achieve this by further development of our society with great friendship and support across all boarders and barriers. Our Industry partners have been very supportive in our initiatives and without which it would have been an uphill challenge to achieve our goals. Nevertheless, this is an ongoing process with newer developments and techniques in our very exiting field and I look forward to seeing this bear fruits soon! I also welcome our newer member countries who are here to join the initiative. I encourage you to take advantage of the informal networking opportunities. The connections you make here can lead to collaborations, lifelong friendships, and the exchange of ideas that could potentially shape the future of Interventional and Therapeutic Neuroradiology in this region. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to our vendors, volunteers, and the organizing committee for their tireless efforts in making this event possible. Their dedication to ensuring a seamless and enriching experience for all of us deserves our utmost appreciation. Once again, I welcome everyone to the 15th Biennale Congress of AAFITN from 13 th to 15th of October 2023 in Hong Kong and hope you have great fun! With warmest regards, Dr Jeyaledchumy Mahadevan President Elect of Asian-Australian Federation of Interventional and Therapeutic Neuroradiology (AAFITN) |
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