Call for papers - 21th IEEE Symposium on Computer-Based Medical Systems (CBMS)
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Special Track on Healthgrid Computing - Applications to Biomedical
Research and Healthcare

       CBMS 2008: IEEE on Computer-Based Medical Systems (CBMS)

               Sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society
                       June 17-19, 2008
                       Jyväskylä, Finland
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CALL FOR PAPERS

Bioinformatics, genomics, proteomics and medical image analysis are
emerging methods in health care. Navigating between phenotype and genotype
means that clinical data and genetic assessment are integrated in patient
investigations. What is missing today is:
     ** full integration of these methods and technologies to enhance all
phases of health care, including diagnosis, prognosis, etc.;
     **dissemination of such methods in clinical practice, whenever they
are developed, deployed and maintained.

Such a vision requires the design and implementation of computer tools,
methods and platforms for seamless biomedical data and bioinformatics
tools integration.

Main issues to realize such a vision are:
    * Integration of multiple laboratories collecting genomics and
post-genomics data, so that biology or bioinformatics research
laboratories:
        o can continue to maintain their own biological, biomedical and
computing resources autonomously;
        o can face effectively the growth of data they need to manage and
process exploiting recent algorithms such as data mining taking
into account that biomedical data are produced and stored
continuously;

   * Provision of large computing power especially in areas such as:
        o The medical image processing community that is facing a growing
need to analyse 2D, 3D, 4D images, to simulate medical treatments
or surgeries (radiotherapy, plastic surgery, etc.), and to
develop computer aided surgery;
       o Integration and access physicians to all of their patients
medical data from their office.

The Grid paradigm offers CPU and data handling capabilities, and allows
users and laboratories to share their facilities (computing and data
storage resources, instruments, software, knowledge, etc.) through high
bandwidth networks between dynamically formed Virtual Organizations.

Healthgrid computing can be a solution for the deployment of Grids in
medical research centres, taking into account that it has been very
limited, until now, for a number of reasons. Cost, both in terms of
infrastructure and manpower, is a significant barrier.

To face the complexity of novel, cooperative, distributed Health and
Bioinformatics applications, new specialized Grid services have to be
developed. Such services, integrated in a framework called Problem Solving
Environment, allow deploying applications in a distributed way and
carrying out complex ìin silicoî simulations by composing single
bio-applications into manageable workflows. In such a way Grids can be
deployed to address the needs of the biomedical community.

The main goal of the Conference Track is to discuss well-known and
emerging bio data-intensive systems in the context of Grids, and to
analyse technologies and methodologies useful to develop such systems in
these environments.

In particular, this Conference Track aims at offering a forum of
discussion where young researchers and PhD students could present their
research activities, either at an early or mature phase.


TOPICS OF INTEREST include, but are not limited to:

* Grid Infrastructures for Biomedical Data Analysis and Management
* Problem Solving Environments for Biomedical and Bioinformatics Applications
* Grid-based applications in the life sciences
* Workflow application for complex analysis processes
* High throughput for in-silico virtual screening
* Grid Computing Infrastructures, Middleware and Tools for Healthcare
* Grid Computing Biomedical Services
* Collaboration Technologies
* Databases and the Grid in the Biomedical Field
* Extracting Knowledge from Biomedical Data Grids
* Data Grids for Bioinformatics
* Grid Architectures for Interactive Biomedical Applications
* Grid Architectures and Solutions for Data-Intensive Biomedical Applications
* Grid-based Biomedical Informatics Interoperability
* Security in Biomedical Data Grids
* Semantic Grids for Multimedia Biomedical Data
* Ubiquitous Access to Grid-enabled Applications in Biomedicine
* High-performance Computing for Data-Centric Biomedical Applications
* Grid-based Visualization of Biomedical Data
* Integration of Grid-enabled Applications into Clinical Practice


IMPORTANT DATES

January 28, 2008                    Paper submission due
February 28, 2008                  Notification of acceptance
March 28, 2008                       Final camera-ready paper due
March 28, 2008                       Pre-registration deadline


PAPER SUBMISSION AND PUBLICATION

We invite original previously unpublished contributions that are not
submitted concurrently to a journal or another conference. Unlike
workshops, where position papers and reports on initial and intended work
are appropriate, papers selected for a Special Track should report on
significant unpublished work suitable for publication as a conference
paper.

Each contribution must be prepared following the IEEE 2-column format and
should not exceed the length of 6 (six) Letter-size pages and submitted
electronically before the paper submission deadline. All submissions
including special track papers will be done electronically via the CBMS
web submission system, which will be open approximately one month before
the deadline. Prospective authors should choose the ST5: Healthgrid
Computing - Applications to Biomedical Research and Healthcare title when
submitting a paper.

All submissions will be peer-reviewed by at least three reviewers of the
Special Track Program Committee. All accepted papers will be included in
the conference proceedings published by IEEE CS Press. At least one author
must pay the registration fee before March 28, 2008 for each accepted
paper.

Please consult http://cbms2008.it.jyu.fi for further information.


TRACK CHAIRS

- Giovanni Aloisio, Univ. of Salento, Lecce, Italy
- Maria Mirto, Univ. of Salento, Lecce, Italy
- Almerico Murli, Univ. of Naples, Italy
- Tony Solomonides, University of the West of England, UK
- Alfredo Tirado-Ramos Univ. Amsterdam, The Netherlands

PROGRAM COMMITTEE (PROVISIONAL)

- Dave S. Angulo, DePaul University, USA
- Robert G. Belleman, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Christian Barillot, Campus de Beaulieu, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France
- Vincent Breton, CNRS/IN2P3, LPC Clermont-Ferrand, France
- Marian Bubak, Institute of Computer Science, Poland
- Mario Cannataro, University "Magna GrÊcia" of Catanzaro, Italy
- Rita Casadio, Biocomputing Lab, University of Bologna, Italy
- Sandro Fiore, CACT/NNL-INFM, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy
- Andreas R. Formiconi, Dept. of Clinical Pathophysiology - University of
Florence, Italy
- Carole Goble, University of Manchester, UK
- Concettina Guerra, University of Padova, Italy
- Vicente Hernandez, Universidad Politecnica de Valencia
- Dieter Kranzlmueller, Joh. Kepler University Linz, Austria
- Giuliano Laccetti, University of Naples "Federico II", Italy
- Yannick Legre, CNRS/IN2P3 France
- Silvia D. Olabarriaga, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Cecilia Saccone, ITB/CNR Institute of Biomedical Technologies of Bari,
Italy
- Fabrizio Silvestri, Information Science and Technology Institute (ISTI),
CNR Pisa, Italy
- Peter M.A. Sloot, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands