Academia / The 9th Congress of the WCNMB Setting up third-world countries with modern medical technology With the goal of joining efforts to improve the quality of nuclear medicine for the continuous advancement of medical knowledge and enhancement of patient care, the 9th World Congress of Nuclear Medicine and Biology (WCNMB 2006) will held from October 22nd through October 27th, 2006 in the COEX convention center, Seoul. Under the theme "The Global Harmonization and New Horizons of Nuclear Medicine" this World Congress is thus expected to aid in globalizing the field of nuclear medicine by fostering an international network of cooperation and communication. "Exchange and harmonization of our technologies, scientific information and implementation strategies will not only successfully unite our nuclear medicine scientists and specialists, but also will educate the people of the world on the incredible benefits of nuclear medicine practice as well," underlines a very busy Dr. Lee Myung-chul, president of WCNMB. Information sharing, latest technology and scientific discussion The President concurrently serves as a professor at Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Nuclear Medicine. He notes that he devotes the majority of his time to education training in less-developed countries since his focus is to cooperate with these countries and disseminate nuclear medicine technology to them. It is true that it is quite difficult to implement technology like nuclear medicine in an underdeveloped country, Lee points out, explaining that nuclear medicine can't do without a lot of money because it is a heavily IT-related field. Accordingly, no matter how ambitious an underdeveloped country may be it is difficult to develop it practically, he said. Lee explains: "In the case of participation fee, stay expenses and expenses of a round trip, it may be burdensome for scholars who came from an underdeveloped country." He adds that in that regard, the Congress Organizing Committee has created various programs to offer participation discounts at half-price, to provide reasonable accommodation, or even offer the program free of charge. The president is eager to spread nuclear medicine technology to underdeveloped and developing countries. He says that he would like to disseminate nuclear medicine technology globally by providing those countries with databases and training programs. To propagate this field all over the world he had no choice but to seek a support system based on harmonious participation all over the world, not only on advanced countries' technology. For instance, Lee gave North Korea as an example. The president has visited Pyeongyang three times so far, and explains that Pyeongyang's medical machinery is quite backward and that importing the isotopes needed for nuclear medicine is difficult. After seeing such circumstances in North Korea, Lee has continuously sent materials through the city of Gaesung since the middle of last year and also prepared a transport truck for transporting water of an isotope for nuclear medicine technology development in the sterile land. He said the Congress Organizing Committee strives to allow around ten North Korean nuclear medicine scholars to participate in this forthcoming Seoul Congress, adding that he plans to exempt North Korean scholars an entry fee in order to allow North Korea to join as a member country. Global harmonization, new horizons of nuclear medicine In an academic congress like the 9th World Congress of Nuclear Medicine & Biology, information sharing about the latest technology as well as scientific discussion are most important, Lee underscores. He further emphasizes: "Above all, an important issue is how to be able to reduce the technology gap with an underdeveloped country and the main focus is how to cooperate with them." For instance, cyclotron equipment is quite expensive for an underdeveloped or developing country, Lee notes. In that context, a new cyclotron being developed by Korea today is being watched by the entire world due to its reasonable price as well as its excellent quality. The president said that now is the proper time to promote it since a raft of countries are interested in Korean-made cyclotrons including Chile, Algeria, Vietnam, Serbia, India, Indonesia and the United States. President Lee adds that he believes this forthcoming Seoul Congress regarding nuclear medicine & biology can serve as a showcase for the domesticmade cyclotron to be able to contribute even more. He revealed his plan that he is eager to drive forward to provide an underdeveloped country with cyclotrons free-of-charge by actively creating funding sources. Since there is already competition with other global cyclotron manufacturers such as Belgium's IBA, he maintains that the government must take this into their policy consideration. Professor Lee also emphasizes that Korea's nuclear medicine technology needs continuous development effort to maintain its superiority. He said that associated business circles need to enhance their brand recognition and to acquaint overseas participants with their development products while proactively taking part in this Congress. In doing so, related business circles can create exports, he pointed out, adding that we depend on exports to maintain profitability. Universal concerns shared across borders Lee said this regarding the expected outcome of this 9th World Congress: "Health and medicine certainly cannot be restricted by local or national issues, as they are universal concerns shared across borders. Now, more than ever, the expanding field of nuclear medicine has revealed itself to be of international interest." The president stresses that it is essential to understand that in order for the global harmonization of nuclear medicine to successfully occur, all areas of the world must actively participate. In other words, international synergy is needed to empower less developed nations to take advantage of nuclear medicine, therein paving a road to new horizons in the world, he said. In a nutshell, the objective of the 9th WCNMB 2006 is to establish a communication channel to foster the exchange of information and knowledge among nuclear medicine scientists and specialists throughout the world. Prof. Lee adds that the strategic planning and final presentation of the Congress will significantly promote nuclear medicine. In addition, it will emphasize the importance of nuclear medicine to related organizations, governments, medical specialists and the public by instilling global confidence in the many benefits of nuclear medicine practice. Political alliances and overall support of WCNMB efforts will therefore be strengthened as the Congress will assist in the global recognition of the many advantages of nuclear medicine and its related technologies, particularly in regards to developing and less developed countries. In conclusion, the success of the World Congress will not only proliferate and improve international communication, but also will encourage the constant progress of nuclear medicine, ultimately reducing heterogeneity and increasing harmony throughout the field.