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Welcome to the ninth international conference on pediatric mechanical circulatory support systems and pediatric cardiopulmonary perfusion.

On behalf of the organizing committee, we are pleased to welcome you to the Ninth International Conference on Pediatric Mechanical Circulatory Support Systems and Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Perfusion at the Hershey Lodge, Hershey, PA, USA, May 8–11, 2013. The main purpose of the proposed meeting is to bring together internationally known clinicians, bioengineers, basic scientists, and industry participants involved in research on pediatric mechanical cardiac support systems and pediatric cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) procedures (1). The primary focus will be to describe explicitly the problems with current pediatric mechanical circulatory support systems, methods, and techniques during acute and chronic support and suggest solutions with novel approaches. During the past 9 years, we have not changed our main focus, but we have added more hands-on wet labs and simulations with the newest devices and techniques to give the highest possible educational opportunities to the diverse participants (2–5). Learning objectives of the ninth annual event are (i) to evaluate the impact of unique features and outcomes for pediatric ventricular assist device support, (ii) to compare the benefits and risks of current and new extracorporeal life support (ECLS) systems and CPB equipment and techniques, (iii) to determine how and where to implement cutting-edge bioengineering approaches in their practice of pediatric cardiovascular medicine, and (iv) to critique new and current devices including pediatric heart pumps, oxygenators, etc., and the areas where additional physician training may be required for successful implementation. The Ninth Annual Event will start with a special lecture in remembrance of John A. Waldhausen, Founding Chair of the Department of Surgery at the Penn State Hershey College of Medicine, given by Professor of Emeritus William S. Pierce, MD, and John L. Myers, MD, from Penn State Hershey College of Medicine. The opening of the event will continue with Keynote Lectures by two distinguished international scholars. The first Keynote Lecture is titled “Pediatric Heart Failure Etiologies and the Outcomes of Children With Mechanical Circulatory Support” by Jeffrey Towbin, MD, Executive CoDirector, The Heart Institute, Professor and Chief, Pediatric Cardiology Kindervelt-Samuel Kaplan Chair in Cardiology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, and the second Keynote Lecture is titled “Stem Cell Therapy in Children With HLHS” by Shunji Sano, MD, PhD, Professor and Chairman, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Okayama University School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama City, Japan. There will be two plenary sessions in the afternoon of the first day. While the first plenary session will cover the pediatric Mechanical circulatory support (MCS): 2013 update including several devices and outcomes for pediatric patients, the focus of the second plenary session will be neuromonitoring and neuroprotection during CPB. The second day of the event will start with the third plenary session on ECLS systems: 2013 update followed by a minisymposium on Nursing Perspectives of ECLS. Twelve regular slide presentations (all selected from submitted abstracts) will cover the latest research results of pediatric MCS, ECLS, and CPB procedures. Six wet labs and simulation sessions (3-h block) will be performed, and all participants will be exposed to the latest devices in the field. Following this special session, a wine and cheese reception will be held at The Hershey Story—a new museum at the sweetest place on earth—described as The Hershey Story is an uplifting celebration of the great American dream. Each of the five permanent, engaging, interactive exhibits tells you a pivotal part of Milton Hershey’s amazing rags-to-riches journey. Discover the town through immersive exhibits and doi:10.1111/aor.12082 bs_bs_banner