OUR VISION

The 24^th edition of the International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention (MICCAI 2021) has for the second time been placed under the shadow of COVID-19. Complicated situations due to the pandemic and multiple lockdowns have affected our lives during the past year, sometimes perturbing the researchers work, but also motivating an extraordinary dedication from many of our colleagues, and significant scientific advances in the fight against the virus.

After another difficult year, most of us were hoping to be able to travel and finally meet in person at MICCAI 2021 in Strasbourg, France. The local organizing team, leaded by the University of Strasbourg and the ICube Institute, CNRS, along with the Convention Center and the Tourist Office of Strasbourg, had prepared for you an amazing program of social activities: visits of Strasbourg and its Unesco World Heritage treasures, the magnificent Cathedral, the lovely medieval "Petite France" quarter, visit of the European Parliament, fine French and Alsatian cuisine, a gala dinner at Europa Park (named world's best amusement park four years in a row), and post-conference tours of Alsace. On a scientific point of view, we had prepared tours of our amazing facilities, including the operating rooms of the future hosted at the IHU Strasbourg and surgical training facilities hosted at the IRCAD Institute.

Strasbourg is a multi-faceted city. Rich in Old Europe history, but also a multicultural European capital and lively modern city. It is a green and bike-friendly city (with the longest network of bicycle paths in France), but also a pioneer in high technologies with several Nobel prize awardees and a first transatlantic surgical intervention performed on a human in New-York from IRCAD Strasbourg. In a country with "freedom, equality, fraternity” as a motto, people are very concerned about diversity and inclusion. In this edition we chose to give a flavour of Strasbourg by putting themes that are dear to our hearts in the spotlight such as sustainable research, or gender bias in science.

Unfortunately, due to the uncertainty of the global situation, and with the safety and accessibility of all being our top priority, MICCAI 2021 had to be moved again to an online event that will be held over 5 days from Sept 27^th to Oct 1^st, 2021. Past the disappointment, our teams doubled their efforts to offer you the best possible virtual edition. Taking advantage of the experience gained last year and of the fast evolving platforms, the organizers of MICCAI 2021 have redesigned the schedule and the format. To offer the attendees both a strong scientific content and an engaging experience, two virtual platforms will be used: Pathable for the orals and plenary sessions, and SpatialChat for lively poster sessions, industrial booths and networking events in the form of interactive group video chats. With amazing events, such as our new addition to MICCAI, the Cliniccai clinical day, and many other surprises, we are very excited to welcome you in this virtual event!

LOCAL TEAM