The European Brain Council had the chance to attend the European Associations of Neurosurgical Societies 2024 Congress which was held from 13-17 October 2024 in Sofia (Bulgaria). Attended by 2.000 neurosurgeons from Europe and all over the world, the EANS Annual Congress is the main meeting point of the European Neurosurgical Community, and the connecting link between European Neurosurgery and all continental neurosurgical societies. This year, the theme was “Innovation, Education, Leadership”, reflecting the current need to thoroughly discuss the future of neurosurgery in connection with technological advances that can improve neurosurgical education, training and treatment, aiming to create the next leaders of neurosurgery in Europe and all over the globe.
The EANS congress started with a grand opening ceremony by EANS President Prof. Torstein Meling, an appearance of Kukeri dancers as well as a traditional Bulgarian dance.
Building Brain Health in Europe
EBC took part in a session titled “Building Brain Health in Europe”. This session featured a series of presentations by prominent experts in the field of brain health. Prof Torstein R. Meling chaired the session. Speakers included Prof Thomas Berger, Prof Suzanne Dickson, Tarek Yousry, Prof Johnny Duerinck, Dr Niklas Marklund, Majda Thurnher, Dr Ricardo Chavarriaga, and Dr Eric Suero Molina. Topics covered various aspects of brain health, including neuroradiology, the impact of brain tumours, traumatic brain injury, and stroke, as well as the role of neurosurgery in modern psychiatry.
Prof. Suzanne Dickson, EBC President, presented the advocacy work in the brain space undertaken at the European level and explored the importance of the work currently being done. Furthermore, she highlighted the potentials for strengthened collaboration and the needs going forward for the benefit of all within the brain space, particularly with a spotlight on neurosurgery, neurology and neurological conditions (including the clinicians that treat them and the patients that live with them). Dr Ricardo Chavarriaga explored the ethics of neuroprosthetics and looked into the development of government mechanisms for the use of technology (such as artificial intelligence and big data) to safeguard rights on mental privacy. This protects individuals from the use of data obtained during the measurement of their brain activity without their consent and expressly prohibits any commercial transaction involving this data. His work focuses on leveraging neuroscience, AI, and ethics for advancing responsible innovation and governance of human-centred technology.
With EBC currently leading the drafting on a European Charter for the Responsible Development of Neurotechnologies, this important topic was also brought forward. The growing accessibility and portability of neurotechnologies have now expanded their use into the general consumer market, which raises crucial ethical and societal issues. Medical devices cannot be placed on the European market without conforming to strict requirements and non-medical applications (including products for neurostimulation and neurofeedback in work, education, entertainment and marketing) show lack of thorough scientific assessment, ethical supervision and regulation. The European Charter for the Responsible Development of Neurotechnologies builds on existing mechanisms of governance and complements existing legislation by contributing to human-centred risk evaluation, addressing gaps and shedding light on grey areas deserving robust governance. For this, EBC brought together organisations of people living with brain conditions, organisations of professional actors in health, research and ethics, policymakers and industry to support greater wellbeing and sustainable economic growth and guide public policy, activities of companies and investment.
Lastly, EBC was present at the Congress with a booth in the exhibition area, where we shared more information about ongoing projects, latest activities, and upcoming events! We are looking forward to next years’ EANS congress, taking place from October 5 to 9 in Vienna!
