Welcome to the 2012 International Society for Therapeutic Ultrasound Symposium at the Heidelberg Congress Center in Heidelberg, Germany.

This year, the meeting will be held together with the 2nd International Symposium on Sonothrombolysis, offered as a Satellite Symposium of the ISTU on June 10, 2012. Thus we expect a diverse and multidisciplinary audience this year at ISTU 2012.

A broad range of topics will be covered at ISTU 2012 including Bubble-Enhanced Delivery, Brain Drug Delivery, Cavitation Studies, Clinical Studies, Transducers and Devices, Tumor Delivery and Treatment, and Gene and Cell Therapy. Esteemed experts from around the world have accepted our invitation to lecture on some of the most exciting developments taking place in therapeutic ultrasound. Oral sessions will be organized into two parallel tracks along with special plenary sessions for all participants.

A Student Paper Competition will be held again this year. Finalists will compete for the Award in Honor of Nadine Barrie Smith by giving both oral and paper presentations. The student award committee will judge these during Monday afternoon's poster session and the winners will be announced at the plenary session on Wednesday morning.

We very much hope that all attendees will enjoy the Sunday welcome reception at the congress center.

We thank our sponsors and exhibitors without which this conference would not be possible. We look forward to seeing you in Heidelberg!

Stephen Meairs

Conference Chair
Prof. Dr. med. Stephen Meairs
University of Heidelberg
Universitätsmedizin Mannheim

Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3
68167 Mannheim
+49 (0)621 - 383-3550
meairs@neuro.ma.uni-heidelberg.de

Organization - Registration - Accommodation
Ms Natali Jurina
University of Heidelberg
UniTT event management
Seminarstraße 2
D-69117 Heidelberg
+49 (0)6221 - 54 36 59
natali.jurina@zuv.uni-heidelberg.de

Fry Award:
Kullervo Hynynen, Stephen Meairs, Shin Umemura

Fred Lizzi Award:
Jean-Francois Aubry, Mike Bailey, Vera Khokhlova

Nominations/Elections:
Chris Diederich, Mathias Fink, Brian Fowlkes, Yoi Matsumoto

Publications:
Robert Muratore, Emad Ebbini, Jean-Francois Aubry

Sponsors/Exhibits:
Kim Butts Pauly, Wady Gedroyc, Mike Sekins, Sham Sokka, Feng Wu

Standards:
Mike Sekins, Peter Kaczkowski, Vera Khokhlova, Gail ter Haar

Student Awards:
Tom Leslie, Wen Chen, Kim Butts Pauly, Gail ter Haar

Abstract submission for the 12th International Symposium on Therapeutic Ultrasound - ISTU 2012

Here you can submit your abstract

• Abstracts may only be submitted via Internet.
• Abstracts must be written in English and structured according to four categories: "Background, Methods, Results and Conclusion".
• Abstracts should contain original material only, which has not been published elsewhere.
• Methods and Results must contain original data and the Conclusions must be clearly expressed.
• The length of the abstract is limited to 2500 characters including spaces.
• Abstracts received after the given deadline of February 26, 2012 will not be reviewed.
• "Oral presentation" implies that your abstract will be considered for an oral sesseion primarily, but also for poster presentation.
• "Poster" implies that your abstract will be considered for poster presentation only.
• Oral Sessions: Platform presentations last eight minutes followed by two minutes discussion.
• Poster Sessions: Authors must be available for discussion during the poster sessions.
• Only confirmed abstract submissions with a valid Abstract Number will enter the review process. Please make sure prior to the deadline of submission that you have received confirmation for each submitted abstract.
• A maximum of two images (jpeg, gif) or one table and one image per abstract can be uploaded for the abstract.

Sponsoring ISTU 2012

Registration has opened on December 15, 2011.

Early Bird Registration: December 15, 2011 - March 1, 2012

ISTU Member 425 €

Non-Member 495 €

Student 150 €

Regular Registration: March 1 - June 8, 2012

ISTU Member 520 €

Non-Member 595 €

Student 150 €

On-Site Registration

ISTU Member 695 €

Non-Member 695 €

Heidelberg has many excellent hotels in the old city close to the Kongresshaus/ Stadthalle Heidelberg, where the conference is convening. We can offer special rates during the conference.

On the map below all available conference hotels are shown (including the distance to the conference venue), which you can book through UniTT.

Heidelberg Convention Center rests in the heart of the Old Town on the bank of the Neckar river. This splendid historic conference center with its magnificent architecture has room for 2275 guests and 600 square meters for exhibition. The meeting venue offers state-of-the-art technology with outstanding catering.

Heidelberg is easily accessible by plane, train or car.

By plane
From Frankfurt Main Airport you can take the train to Heidelberg (German Railway), which takes 50 minutes by ICE (one way: approx. 24.00 €). You have to change trains in Mannheim.
Another way is to book a seat on the Lufthansa Airport Shuttle Service. A one way ticket to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Heidelberg (which is in the city centre, close to the main bus station Bismarckplatz) is 22.00 € (20.00 € if you fly with Lufthansa). The bus takes 60 minutes to Heidelberg and requires reservation.
A third possibilty to get to Heidelberg from the Airport is by TLS Shuttle Service (one way: approx. 33.00 €, 1 h ride, reservation required). You can also book an individual transfer (155 €).

From Stuttgart Airport you can take the train to Heidelberg (German Railway). It takes 90 minutes by IC (one way: approx. 26.00 €). Another possibilty is the Airport transfer from Stuttgart. This is an individual car transfer which requires reservation and costs about 125.00 € (travel time: 90 minutes).

From Frankfurt Hahn Airport you can use the buses which leave from there. Reservation is not required (Exception: for groups of 5 or more persons reservation needs to be done at least 3 work days in advance). A one way ticket to the Heidelberg main station is 18.00 €. The bus takes 135 minutes to Heidelberg. Please note that there is no connection by train from Hahn to Heidelberg.

By train
You can book tickets for the German railway system directly on the homepage of the Deutsche Bahn.

By car
from the north: Motorway A5 / A 656 (via Darmstadt, direction: Karlsruhe/Basel), exit at Heidelberg motorway junction
from the south: Motorway A5 (direction: Frankfurt a. M.), exit at Heidelberg motorway junction

Local public transport service
The local public transport service in the Rhine-Neckar area is the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar.

Reception and Dinner at the Heidelberg Castle, Tuesday June 12, 2012 from 19:00 to 23:00
Heidelberg Castle is one of Germany's most important cultural monuments. It experienced a grand and eventful history as the former royal seat of the Electors of the Palatinate. The representative palace was destroyed during the War of Palatinate Succession. Various restoration measures were carried out afterwards, but a lightning strike and a major fire once again reduced the palace to ashes. The Palace was never fully rebuilt, however has experienced a revival since the Romantic era as one of the most famous palace ruins in Europe. From 1810 on a French emigrant, Charles Graf von Graimberg, devoted himself to the preservation of the ruins. Thanks to his commitment Heidelberg Palace is open to visitors as ruins. Around 1900 a part of the Palace was restored, including the famous „Königssaal“, which is located just above the „Großes Faß” an enormous wooden wine barrel, the largest in the world with a capacity of 195,000 liters (approx. 51,514 gal.).

The evening will start at 19:00 with a reception on the Schlossaltan (Castle Terrace), where you will have some drinks and appetizers while enjoying the breath taking views over Heidelberg! Delightful guided tours of the castle will be offered, which are known as one of the special treats of Heidelberg. At 20:00 we will continue with a 3 course dinner, accompanied by renaissance music with original instruments and costumes.

There will be transfers to the Castle from the Stadthalle. The castle can also easily be reached by taking the funicular railway (Molkenkur Railway), which takes you right up to the castle's entrance in less than 5 minutes, although the beautiful (but steep!) 15 min walk uphill is also an option. We hope you will enjoy this evening and everything that Heidelberg Castle has to offer!

ISTU Golf Tournament at the magnificent Leon-Rot golf course on Saturday, June 9, 2012.
A very special event awaits golf enthusiasts of the ISTU. They will have the opportunity to play the number 1 rated course in Germany, Leon-Rot. The magnificent course is about a 20-minute drive from Heidelberg. We will begin at 11 AM with a canon start. Please contact the conference host if you would like to participate. Handicap cards are required.