Conference by Professor Antonio Di Ieva (Macquarie University)
To celebrate the Day of Italian Research in the World, the Italian Cultural Institute is pleased to invite its members and friends to a conference that will deal with a very fascinating topic, namely the application of artificial intelligence to numerous scientific fields, in particular medicine. The title of conference is A journey in the realms of neurosurgery and computational neurosciences and will be delivered by Professor Antonio Di Ieva, neurosurgeon at Macquarie Neurosurgery and Professor of Neurosurgery and Neuroanatomy at Macquarie University in Sydney.
Treatment of neurosurgical diseases, including brain tumours, spine diseases and trauma, cerebrovascular malformations, and nerves’ pathologies, amongst others, requires a comprehensive and deep knowledge of the nervous system architecture, i.e. its anatomy, as well as of the way it works. The way that modern neurosurgeons deal with brain, spinal cord, spine and peripheral nerve diseases passes through the knowledge of several disciplines, including neurology, radiology, pathology, radiation oncology, psychology and cognitive neurosciences, etc., whereas the surgical skills represent only the tip of the iceberg. In the last years, computers are also used to help clinicians and surgeons in differential diagnosis and decision-making. In such a perspective, the use of artificial intelligence can implement the natural intelligence of physicians and surgeons, with the aim to create the “augmented surgeon” of the future, with the final goal of reducing errors and improving patients’ treatment and outcome. The talk will illustrate the history of neurosurgery, from ancient times to the implementation of machines and robots in the surgical theatre, in the perspective of a neurosurgical practitioner who has also pioneered the use of fractal geometry and artificial intelligence to enhance medical expertise, advocating the paradigm on human-and-machine interaction at benefit of science, for a deeper understanding of the human brain, and for the benefit of patients, for a better treatment of their neurological diseases.
Prof. Antonio Di Ieva, a member of Macquarie Neurosurgery at Macquarie University, Sydney, is a Professor of Neurosurgery
and Neuroanatomy with expertise in neuro-oncology, pituitary and skull base surgery, specialising in microneurosurgery as well as pain surgical treatment. He is also a full professor (Professore di I fascia) at the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR), as well as an Associate Professor of Neuroanatomy at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria. Prof. Di Ieva is a leader in the field of neuro-endoscopy and minimally invasive “keyhole” neurosurgery, as well as a world leader in neuro-oncology research with over 130 peer-reviewed publications and 3 textbooks, including a handbook of skull base surgery, a textbook in the fields of computational neurosciences on the fractal geometry of the brain, and an educational book (in Italian) on biology, the Compendium of Biology for Infants. He has been awarded international research awards and grants, including the 2019 John Mitchell Crouch Fellowship, the most prestigious research award of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS), as well as more than one million dollars for an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship. He leads international and national seminars and workshops teaching neuroanatomy and neurosurgical approaches. He has performed surgery and research in multiple hospitals and universities across the world, including the Humanitas Research Hospital in Milan, the University of Bonn, the University of Vienna, the Thomas Jefferson Institute in Philadelphia and the University of Toronto. At Macquarie University, he has founded and leads the Computational NeuroSurgery (CNS) Lab, the first laboratory in the world where computational modelling, fractal geometry and artificial intelligence (AI) are used to improve diagnosis and treatment of patients affected by neurosurgical diseases.
The lecture will be in ENGLISH.
Free entry. Limited seats.
Booking essential: www.eventbrite.com.au