By Glen Hughes, BScEEThe 2002 Myoelectric Controls Symposium (MEC '02) which was held in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, August 21-23, 2002, was one of the largest MEC symposiums held over the last 30 years. Over 75 participants from all over the world gathered at MEC '02 to share and learn about upper-extremity myoelectric controls and prosthetic fittings. The symposium was preceded by a course developed for people interested in upper-extremity prosthetic fittings and a course for people interested in occupational therapy. The courses were held August 19-20, and both limited-seating courses were full shortly after being announced. The MEC symposiums are known as the premier event in the world dealing with upper-extremity powered prosthetics and control. They are more than just a scientific gathering as competing exhibitors put their guard down and exchange ideas amongst themselves, knowing they are all challenging themselves to develop better products for their clients. The symposium had a display area with exhibitors from IPO Orthopedic Group, Liberating Technologies, Motion Control, Otto Bock Health Care, Peaster and Williams Central Fab, RSL Steeper, and Variety Ability Systems, Inc. The MEC '02 symposium included an interesting session for the presentation of future products and directions by the exhibitors in addition to the keynote speakers and paper presentations. The symposium had two keynote speakers: Dr. Robert Scott, professor emeritus in Electrical Engineering at the University of New Brunswick, with a presentation on the evolution of myoelectric controls; and Steve Hughes, research director at Queen Mary's Hospital in London and director of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Surrey, United Kingdom, with a presentation on research involving the use of osseointegration for the attachment of prosthetic limbs. The symposium included 37 paper presentations divided into five themes which were chaired by invited speakers: Prosthetics and Hardware (Session chair Richard Weir, PhD), Prosthetics (Session chair John Miguelez, CP, FAAOP), Occupational Therapy and case studies (Session chair Margaret Wise, OTR, CHT, CVE), Hardware and Controllers (Session chair Dick Plettenburg, PhD), and Research (Session chair Peter Kyberd, PhD). More information about the MEC '02 symposium is available from the Institute of Biomedical Engineering website http://www.unb.ca/biomed/mec Glen Hughes, BScEE, is a project engineer at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton.
