The MICCAI Society

The MICCAI Society is a professional organization for scientists in the areas of Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Interventions. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of these fields, the society brings together researchers from several scientific disciplines including computer science, robotics, physics, and medicine. The society is best known for its annual flagship event, The MICCAI Conference, which facilitates the publication and presentation of original research on MICCAI-related topics. However, the society provides endorsements and sponsorships for several scientific events each year.
== History ==
In 1998, three international conferences: Visualization in Biomedical Computing (VBC), Computer Vision and Virtual Reality in Robotics and Medicine (CVRMed), and Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery (MRCAS) merged into a single conference entitled "The International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Interventions" (abbreviated MICCAI) with its first edition in Boston. The MICCAI Society was founded in 2004 by several active members of this research community and former chairs of the MICCAI conference. 
In 2009, the society introduced the "MICCAI Fellow" award to recognize senior members who had made substantial contributions to the MICCAI community. 12 fellows were elected in 2009 and three additional fellows are elected each year. New MICCAI Fellows are announced each year at the Annual MICCAI Conference. 
Since 2012, the society is involved in several events each year outside of the annual conference through endorsements and/or sponsorships. These include a number of smaller international conferences, MICCAI-focused workshop sessions at related conferences, and educational programs such as "summer schools".
== Research Focus ==
=== Medical Image Computing ===
Medical Image Computing (the "MIC" in MICCAI) is the field of study involving the application of image processing and computer vision to medical imaging. The goals of medical image computing tasks are diverse, but some common examples are computer-aided diagnosis, image segmentation of anatomical structures and/or abnormalities, and the registration or "alignment" of medical images acquired through different means or at different points in time.
=== Computer Assisted Interventions ===
Computer Assisted Interventions (the "CAI" in MICCAI) is the field of study concerned with the use of computational tools in medical interventions. Prominent examples of computer aided interventions currently in widespread use include image guided biopsy and robot-assisted surgery. Integral to this research area is effective human-computer interaction and user interface design.
== Subgroups ==
Within the MICCAI community, a number of organizations have emerged to represent and advocate for certain populations of MICCAI researchers. Among these are the MICCAI Student Board and the Women in MICCAI Committee. 
=== MICCAI Student Board ===
The MICCAI Student Board began in 2010 when MICCAI initiated its social media presence by creating a facebook group. This effort was championed by student researchers who used the group to organize events specifically for students at the 2011 and 2012 annual conferences. After the 2012 event, the MICCAI board of directors formally recognized the MICCAI student board as a part of the society and began providing support for the student board's annual events. 
=== Women in MICCAI Committee ===
The Women in MICCAI Committee began as a series of networking sessions for female researchers within the medical image analysis research community during the 2015 MICCAI conference and the 2016 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging. In October of 2016, the MICCAI board of directors approved a measure to create the "Women in MICCAI Committee" with the goal of strengthening the representation of female scientists in this research area.
Since its inception, the Women in MICCAI Committee has continued to organize networking sessions in conjunction with MICCAI events. It also developed and maintains several online platforms for discussion on social media. The committee is the primary interface between the MICCAI board of directors and the community of women researchers in MICCAI.
== Annual MICCAI Conference ==
=== Conference Format ===
MICCAI conferences are typically scheduled for five days, of which the first and last days set aside for satellite events comprised of tutorials, workshops, and challenges. The main conference includes invited presentations, panel discussions, and podium and poster presentations of original research papers which are published by Springer Nature as conference proceedings.
=== Past MICCAI Conferences ===
Year	Dates 	Location 	General Chair(s)
2019	October 13-17, 2019 	Shenzhen 	Dinggang Shen
2018	September 16-20, 2018 	Granada 	Alejandro Frangi Caregnato
2017	September 10-14, 2017 	Quebec City 	Simon Duchesne
2016	October 17-21, 2016 	Athens 	Sebastien Ourselin, Aytül Erçil
2015	October 5-9, 2015 	Munich 	Nassir Navab
2014	September 14-18, 2014 	Cambridge 	Polina Golland
2013	September 22-26, 2013 	Nagoya 	Kensaku Mori
2012	October 1-5, 2012 	Nice 	Nicholas Ayache
2011	September 18-22, 2011 	Toronto 	Gabor Fichtinger
2010	September 20-24, 2010 	Beijing 	Tingting Jiang
2009	September 20-24, 2009 	London 	Guang-Zhong Yang
2008	September 6-10, 2008 	New York City	Dimitris Metaxas
2007	October 29 - November 2, 2007	Brisbane 	Anthony Maeder
2006	October 1-6, 2006 	Copenhagen 	Mads Nielsen
2005	October 26-29, 2005 	Palm Springs 	James Duncan
2004	September 26-29, 2004 	St. Malo 	Christian Barillot
2003	November 15-18, 2003 	Montreal 	Terry Peters
2002	September 25–28, 2002 	Tokyo 	Takeyoshi Dohi
2001	October 14–17, 2001 	Utrecht 	Max Viergever
2000	October 11-14, 2000 	Pittsburgh 	Anthony M. DiGoia
1999	September 19-22, 1999 	Cambridge 	Alan Colchester
1998	October 11–13, 1998 	Boston 	Ron Kikinis
=== Upcoming MICCAI Conferences ===
Year	Dates 	Location 	General Chair(s)
2020	October 4-8, 2020 	Lima 	Daniel Racoceanu, Leo Joskowicz
2021	September 27 - October 1, 2021	Strasbourg	Caroline Essert
2022	September 18 - 22, 2022 	Singapore 	Shuo Li
== Publications ==
The MICCAI conference proceedings consist of full-length papers which undergo comprehensive peer review. Since even before the merger of the CVRMed, MRCAS, and VBC conferences (see History), the proceedings of the annual conference have been published by Springer Nature as part of the Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) series. 
In addition to the proceedings of the annual conference, MICCAI officially partners with two peer reviewed scientific journals: "Medical Image Analysis" published by Elsevier and "The International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery" (IJCARS) published by Springer Nature. These journals loosely correspond to the "MIC" and "CAI" focuses of the MICCAI Society respectively, but they have substantial overlap in subject matter.
The MICCAI Society also partners with Elsevier to develop a series of books on MICCAI-related research, written by scientists in the MICCAI research community. , nine books have been published in this series.
== References ==
== External Links ==
* The MICCAI Society Website
* The MICCAI on Twitter
* The MICCAI Facebook Group
* The MICCAI Educational Challenge
* The 2020 Conference Website
Category:Professional associations
Category:Scientific organizations
Category:Non-profit organizations
Category:Medical imaging
Category:Computer Assisted Interventions
Category:Organizations established in 2004