On May 23-26th 2013, in Istanbul, Turkey, took place 11th Continental – European Congress of Auditory Implants and New

Technologies (ESPCI 2013). In this year’s meeting participated nearly 2000 ENT physicians, audiologists, phoniatricians, pediatricians, biomedical engineers and other specialists representing 85 countries. The Team of the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing represented: Prof. Henryk Skarżyński MD, PhD, Artur Lorens PhD Eng., Maciej Mrówka MD PhD, Anna Piotrowska MD PhD, Piotr H. Skarżyński MD PhD, Monika Matusiak MD PhD, Łukasz Olszewski MSc, Adam Walkowiak MSc Eng, Anita Obrycka MSc Eng and Katarzyna Cieśla MA. Nine members of this delegation belonged to the Scientific Committee of this Congress.

Direct expression of recognition and acceptance of the scientific level of submitted papers and the scientific status of individuals participating in the congress are so called scientific activities – functions performed by this person during the congress. These include membership in the International Board of Former Presidents, Advisory Board and Scientific Committee. They reflect high scientific status and esteem of specific international scientific bodies. Another, most important group of activities includes:

• Invitation to present Keynote Lecture,
• Invitation to the Round Table or topical Panel,
• Invitation to the official Satellite Symposium,
• Oral presentation.

A third form of the scientific activity is poster presentation.

Scientific activity of the representatives of the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing at the ESPCI 2013 Congress included: 1 Invited Lecture, 2 Keynote Lectures, chairmanship of 5 sessions, participation on 12 Panels/Round Tables, participation in a Satellite Symposium, 14 oral presentations, 9 posters.

Activity and commitment of the scientists representing the Institute, compared to other countries, is best shown by the ranking of the most active scientists during the ESPCI 2013 Congress:

1. H.Skarzyński, IFPS, Poland (28 activities)
2. A. Lorens, IFPS, Poland (21 activities)
3. Th. Lenarz, Germany (19 activities)
4. P.H. Skarżyński, IFPS, Poland (15 activities)
5. L. Sennaroglu, Turcja (14 activities)
6. A.Buechner, Niemcy (13 activities i)
7. A.Obrycka, IFPS, Polska (11 activities)
8. G.Sennaroglu, Turkey (11 activities)
9. J.H.M.Frijns, the Netherlands (11 activities)
10. L.Olgun, Turkey (10 activities)
11. A.Snik, the Netherlands (10 activities)
12. A.Piotrowska, IFPS, Poland (10 activities)
13. E.Yucel, Turkey (10 activities)
14. P.J. Govaerts, Belgium (9 activities)
15. J.Mueller, Germany (9 activities)
16. M.Manrique, Spain (8 activities)
17. S. Archbold, United Kingdom (8 activities)
18. P.van de Heyning, Belgium (8 activities)
19. Ł. Olszewski, IFPS, Poland (7 activities)
20. S.B.Walzman, USA (7 activities)

It should be noted that at this year’s Congress, besides the Institute, there was no other scientific institution represented by such large delegation including so varied specialties. Presented papers included a wide range of problems concerning diagnostics and rehabilitation of individuals with different hearing impairments, surgical procedures, hearing improving devices applied in the Institute and application of the functional neuroimaging techniques for examinations of the auditory system.

Detailed list of the activities of the team of scientists representing the Institute during the ESPCI 2013 Congress:

Invited Lecture at Satellite Symposium:

Prof. Henryk Skarżyński MD, PhD: Direct stimulation of the round window with the Vibrant Soundbridge FMT transducer: longterm safety

Keynote Lectures:

• Prof. Henryk Skarżyński MD, PhD: Longitudinal results of the Partial Deafness Treatment
• Łukasz Olszewski MSc: Audiological aspects of the active middle ear implants

Panels:

• Artur Lorens PhD Eng:
  Application of the brainstem implants in children: difficulties and challenges
  Fitting procedures for the bilateral cochlear implants
  Coding and sound preprocessing strategies
• Maciej Mrówka MD, PhD: Directions of development in the field of bone conduction hearing implants  
• Łukasz Olszewski MSc: Middle ear implantable prostheses
• Anna Piotrowska MD, PhD: Audiological results of individuals using electric-acoustic stimulation system
• Piotr H. Skarżyński MD, PhD:
  Elaboration of different types of electrodes for the optimal electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve 
  Clinical care model and procedures of cochlear implant fitting 
  Cochlear implantation with preservation of the residual natural hearing
• Adam Walkowiak MSc Eng: Academic results of cochlear implant users
• Anita Obrycka MSc Eng:
  Assessment of the quality of life after cochlear implantation 
  Late cochlear implantation in individuals with prelingual hearing loss

Oral presentations:

• Hearing Preservation Classification, Skarżyński H., Lorens A., Skarżyński P.H.
• Application of Adaptive Auditory Speech Test (AAST) for speech perception performance and listening effort estimation in CI children, Lorens A., Coninx F., Kramer S., Piotrowska A., Skarżyński H.
• Deep insertion– round window approach by using SRA electrode, Skarżyński H., Matusiak M., Lorens A., Skarżyński P.H.
• Results of SRA Nucleus, Freedom CI in population of children with functional residua hearing, Skarżyński H., Matusiak M., Mrówka M., Porowski M., Skarżyński P.H., Olszewski Ł.
• BAHA application in single sided deafness (SSD) in children, Mrówka M.,  Piotrowska A., Skarżyński H., Porowski M., Olszewski Ł., Skarżyński P.
• Hearing loss treatment in various acquired and congenital ear malformations with the use of Bone Anchored Hearing Aids (BAHA) in children, Mrówka M.,  Skarżyński H., Porowski M., Skarżyński P.H.
• Stimulation of the round window membrane by Vibrant Soundbridge without interposition of the fascia – surgical implications, Skarżyński H., Porowski M., Olszewski Ł., Skarżyński P.H., Mrówka M.
• Application of Med-El Bonebridge in adult patients with congenital and acquired hearing loss – first experiences, Skarżyński H., Porowski M., Olszewski Ł., Skarżyński P.H., Mrówka M.
• Long term results in patients with hearing loss, using Bone Anchored Hearing Aids (BAHA), Mrówka  M., Skarżyński H., Porowski M., Skarżyński P.H.
• Approaches to eliminate overstimulation in children after cochlear implantation,  Walkowiak A., Lorens A., Zgoda M., Wasowski A., Obrycka A., Skarżyński P.H., Skarżyński H.
• Objective Measurements in Cochlear Implant Fitting in Children, Walkowiak A., Lorens A., Polak M., Kostek B.,  Obrycka A., Wasowski A., Skarżyński H.
• Expert telefitting mode for cochlear implant recipients, Wąsowski A., Obrycka A. , Walkowiak A., Skarżyński H., Bruski Ł., Skarżyński P.H.
• National Network of Teleaudiology for Pediatric Cochlear Implant Recipients, Wąsowski A., Skarżyński H., Obrycka A., Walkowiak A., Lorens A., Skarżyński P.H., Bruski Ł.
• Factors influencing the auditory development in cochlear implanted children, Obrycka A., Lorens A., Piotrowska A., Padilla J.L., Skarżyński H.

posters:

• SRA Clinical Study in adults – results after 36 months’ followup,  Skarżyński H., Matusiak M., Lorens A., Piotrowska A., P.H. Skarżyński
• Direct Round Window Stimulation with the Med-El Vibrant Soundbridge, Olszewski Ł., Skarżyński H., Skarżyński P.H., Piotrowska A., Lorens A., Porowski M.
• Assessment of auditory development in infants with partial deafness, Serafin-Jóźwiak J., Piotrowska A., Lorens A., Obrycka A., Skarżyński H., Skarżyński P.H.
• Speech processor upgrade in CII/HiRes90k users, Walkowiak A, Lorens A, Wąsowski A., Zgoda M., Piotrowska A., Skarżyński H.
• Patterns of bioelectrical resting brain activity in tinnitus – preliminary results, Lewandowska M., Ganc M., Milner R., Cieśla K., Niedziałek I., Karpiesz L., Skarżyński H.
• Functional magnetic resonance imaging in children with partial deafness, Skarżyński H., Wolak T., Cieśla K., Lewandowska M., Rusiniak M., Pluta A., Skarżyński P.H.
• Functional magnetic resonance imaging of tonotopic organization of the primary auditory cortex, Wolak T., Lorens A., Cieśla K., Lewandowska M., Pluta A., Rusiniak M., Milner R., Skarżyński H.
• Bilateral hearing in pre-school children with cochlear implants, Obrycka A., Piotrowska A., Lorens A., Zgoda M., Lutek A., Skarżyński H.
• Hearing Preservation after cochlear implantation with new Med-El FLEX 28 electrode, Olszewski Ł., Skarżyński P.H., Skarżyński H., Porowski M., Mrówka M., Lorens A., Piłka A., Dziendziel B.

The ESPCI Congresses have already 21-years long history. First Congress took place in Nottingham in the United Kingdom in 1992, with participation of about 300 specialists. Today each ESPCI meeting gathers 1.500 – 2.000 people from the entire world, which makes it one of the most important forums for exchange of scientific, clinical and technological experiences in the fields of audiology and ENT.

Being selected in a vote to be an organizer of the ESPCI-series Congress is a great honor and sign of recognition of the achievements of the selected scientific institution. In 2009 the Congress had been organized for the first time in its history in the Central and Eastern Europe, in Warsaw. Its president had been Prof. H. Skarżyński and chief organizers – specialists from the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing.

Beside the representatives of the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, in the present Congress participated a few scientists from Poland, with chairmanship of a session, 5 oral presentations and one poster.