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In 1959 a group of medical
engineers, physicists and physicians met
at the 2nd International Conference of
Medical and Biological Engineering, in
the UNESCO Building, Paris, France to
create an organization entitled
International Federation for Medical
Electronics and Biological Engineering.
At that time there were few national
biomedical engineering societies and
workers in the discipline joined as
Associates of the Federation. Later, as
national societies were formed, these
societies became affiliates of the
Federation.
In the mid-sixties, the name was
shortened to International Federation for
Medical and Biological Engineering. Its international conferences were held first
on a yearly basis, then on a two-year
basis and eventually on a three-year
basis, to conform to the practice of most
other international scientific bodies.
As the Federation grew, its constituency
and objectives changed. During the first
ten years of its existence, clinical
engineering became a viable subdiscipline
with an increasing number of members
employed in the health care area. The
IFMBE mandate was expanded to represent
those engaged in Research and Development
and in Clinical Engineering. The latter
category now represents close to half of
the total membership.
In August 2006, the Federation now has
an estimated 120,000 members in 58 affiliated organizations. The category Honorary Life Member is given to
individuals who have served the
Federation in various ways as affiliate
members.
Observer status may be temporarily
granted to a society or organization
(pending the determination of their
definitive application) to attend the
General Assembly. The Federation actively
looks at ways to assist national or
regional groups encountering some
difficulties in qualifying for
affiliation.
The IFMBE has also achieved a close
association with the International Organization
of Medical Physics. Its
international conferences, commencing
with the 11th in 1976 have been aligned
or combined with those of the IOMP. The
two international bodies have established
an International Union for
Physical and Engineering Sciences in
Medicine. |
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