Author Description

This volume once again comprises the papers presented at the 17th International Congress of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery that was held in London between 25 and 28 June 2003. After many years of research and development in the application of computer and communication technology in radiology and surgery, progress in these endeavours has finally come to fruition: PACS is at the forefront and has achieved a high level of acceptance in clinical settings. This can be observed in many small and large scale PACS realisations. In recent times, however, the traditional focus of PACS medical workstation design directed towards radiology is shifting to other clinical disciplines, specifically surgery. In the vision expressed by H.K. Huang in the Prelude of these CARS proceedings, PACS based imaging informatics is providing the foundation for image assisted applications, not only for computer assisted diagnosis, but even more so in surgery. In this year's CARS, this is reflected in a large increase (32% as compared to CARS 2002) in the number of abstracts submitted for themes relating to computer assisted surgery (CAS). It can be expected that CAS will proceed in its development to reach, in the not too distant future, the level of maturity and acceptance of PACS and thereby will enhance the effectiveness of physicians and the welfare of patients.