The following minutes are a summary of proceedings of the BECON meeting of October 27, 1999. Business conducted during the closed session is included in outline form only. Complete minutes including details of the closed session have been distributed to Consortium members.

Closed Session

During the closed session, the following items were discussed:

1. New BECON Members

2. Status of SBIR, BRP-1, and BRP-2 Programs

   (The program announcement for the FY-2000 Bioengineering Research Partnerships (BRP-2) was issued in the NIH Guide on October 15, 1999.)

3. Nanotechnology Activities
1. National Nanotechnology Initiative - NIH participation in the October 25 PCAST Nanotechnology Panel Meeting was discussed.
2. BECON Nanotechnology Symposium - Planning activities and directions were summarized for this symposium which is scheduled for June 25-26, 2000, at the Natcher Conference Center. The official conference title "Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: Shaping Biomedical Research" was approved. Specific discussion items included symposium format and content, registration fees and number of registrants, facilities, and participant recruitment.
4. 1999 BECON Bioimaging Conference Report - Comments on a draft of the June 1999 Bioimaging Conference Report were discussed. A revised draft will be prepared and distributed for review.

5. Medical Implant Conference - A preliminary agenda for a NIH Conference on Improving Medical Implant Performance Through Retrieval Information was distributed. This conference is scheduled for January 10-12, 2000, at the Natcher Conference Center at the NIH Main campus. Detailed information can be found at the following URL: http://consensus.nih.gov.

6. NIH/NSF Collaboration on Information Technology - A proposal to explore possible collaborative opportunities in information technology between the NSF and NIH was discussed.

Open Session

A presentation and discussion on a National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) initiative to improve patient safety and reduce errors in healthcare settings was provided by Dr. William Hendee (Chair of the NPSF Education and Liaison Program and Associate Dean of the University of Wisconsin Medical Center), Dr. Jeffrey Cooper (Chair of the NPSF Research Program and Director of Biomedical Engineering for the Partners Healthcare System), and Ms. Anne Shea (Acting Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the NPSF). Areas of the NPSF initiative that could be of interest to BECON members include diagnostic and therapeutic equipment design, decision assistance aids, performance metrics, and quality control procedures and requirements. Additional or more specific information about this initiative can be obtained from any of the attending NPSF representatives.

Next Meeting

The next BECON meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 17, from 3 to 5 PM in Conference Room 151 of Building 1 at the NIH Main Campus. The entire meeting on November 17 will be a closed session (BECON members only).