At the end of a year, it is tradition to look back, so I thought this letter should instead look forward, not least because this can largely be the carrier of good news.
Firstly, a welcome update from Jakarta’s ICCN that its finances show a gratifying surplus. Thanks are due to the careful budgeting of our INA colleagues and all the efforts to make the congress rewarding academically and sound financially.
In further financial news, in part due to the prudence of our treasurer and his finance committee, and in part due to the health of our investments, IFCN’s financial situation remains strong, allowing us to invest more in our mission, ‘to promote best practice in clinical neurophysiology through education and research throughout the world.’ ExCo has been encouraging more activity in the IFCN and is aware that this needs additional funding.
We can announce that the budget for 2025 includes an increase in funding for our Research Fellowships, so they receive the same as the Education Fellowships. The call for these will be soon in the new year, for more information. We have also increased the amount budgeted for visiting professorships and focused this on the new Low and Middle Incomes Initiative, which I hope to feature early next year in a letter. Other funds may also be available for items of priority for IFCN.
Lastly IFCN also has a small amount of money available for workshop support. This has not been widely advertised and not always been fully utilized. With that in mind, we invite applications for this, with grants up to $10,000, for more information. We ask for applications by the end of December this year to Kim Zaiss, our ED at kzaiss@ifcn.info. We hope to announce the successful projects by mid-January.
For the remainder of this letter I would like to focus on SIGs and IFCN Societies. These were set up to encourage clinical neurophysiologists with interests in various aspects of our specialty to engage and come together to exchange ideas, encourage education and consider research ideas within the IFCN umbrella. Initially all were titled Special Interest Groups, but last year we introduced the grander title of IFCN Society of …. This was the case when the already established International Neuromuscular Imaging Society joined us and more recently with the newest group in Sleep Neurophysiology and Sleep Science. In future other SIGs may be so titled.
SIG/IFCNS’s are not all the same. The Education SIG is less research based, but reflects the importance of the subject and the need to provide a forum for exchange of ideas. Others include many of the most active people active within a subject which is almost purely clinical neurophysiological, e.g. Advanced EEG/MEG, Brain Stem and Neuromuscular Excitability. Other SIG/IFCNSs concentrate neurophysiological researchers within a subject which is wider than a single specialty, e.g. PAINterest and Brain Stimulation. The task for these groups is to carve out the area where clinical neurophysiology has unique expertise in the broader field. Others reflect our hope that the SIG may lead to utilization of a technique more within clinical neurophysiology, as well as in other specialties, e.g. IFCNSNMI. Since their compositions and range within their area differ, so their needs, sizes, and types of developments will differ.
The Advanced EEG-MEG SIG has focused on the enrollment of new members, circulating suitable research positions and webinars, and supporting submission of abstracts to congresses. It has also been involved in the preparation and review of a manuscript for Clinical Neurophysiology entitled “Alpha Rhythm and Alzheimer’s Disease: Has Hans Berger’s Dream Come True?” on the use of EEG and MEG in the assessment of patients with mild cognitive impairment and dementia.
The Brain Stem SIG discussed ways to outreach for its 200 members in Jakarta. Their goals are to increase its overall visibility and consider guidelines in this area. They are also planning a half workshop in either Turkey or Europe next year.
The PAINterest SIG has an initiative to create an online survey to determine facilities for clinical work and research in nociception and pain. They would also like to have a shared data platform for Laser & Pain talks in the future.
The Brain Stimulation SIG is planning a meeting in early 2025 to update its guidelines on safety, following their much cited previous paper.
As many will know, ultrasound, though more of an anatomical than physiological measure, is used to complement nerve conduction and EMG in the assessment of nerve and muscle disease by clinical neurophysiologists. IFCN is keen to support its increasing use in this situation through the IFCN Society of Neuromuscular Imaging. It is planning a two workshop in conjunction with the Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation Congress in Ottawa, Canada in June 2025. One of their goals, like the Brain Stem SIG, is to create and then put together a neuromuscular standardized curriculum.
The Nerve & Muscle Excitability SIG is planning its annual workshop at ECCN 2025, It is working on new publications and would like a library on the SIG web page with links to publications. They also have some planned research projects for 2025.
I am delighted to mention that our newest group, the IFCN Society of Sleep Neurophysiology and Sleep Science has just been accepted under the leadership of Ambra Stefani and Erik St Louis. Its aims are to improve and encourage the use of clinical neurophysiology in the diagnosis of sleep disorders and in the research into those problems and sleep itself. More details are to be found on our website.
Chairs of IFCNs/SIGs gave their plans at a recent Research Committee meeting and it was exciting to hear of all their plans in more detail in person. It is interesting that some of the goals of differing SIGs/IFCNSs are aligning, even though these have all emerged bottom up from each individually. One of the areas IFCN needs to manage is these groups involvement in ICCNs. The challenge will be to parcel out time for SIGs and IFCNSs for workshops, teaching courses and symposia in busy programmes.
As the year creeps towards its end, I would like to thank colleagues on ExCo and in our management for all their work during 2024, and to thank the Moroccan and Indonesian societies for hosting our Executive Committee. We look forward to increased IFCN activity and some exciting meetings in 2025, not least the European Congress in September in London https://www.eccn2025-london.com/ and the Asia/Oceania Congress in November in Taipei http://www.tscn01.org.tw/news/index.asp?/12.html.
I’ll finish by wishing everyone greetings for the season, whether it is a northern hemisphere winter, a southern hemisphere summer or, for our more tropical members, anything in between.
Best wishes,
Jonathan Cole