ABOUT GENEVA

Geneva has been successful in combining the best of both worlds. It is an up-to-date international centre of world importance and a small and friendly town of only 180,000 inhabitants. Set on the banks of Lake Léman between the Alps and the Jura mountains in the Southwest corner of Switzerland, Geneva enjoys a temperate climate and breathtaking scenery, with Alpine lakes, snow-capped mountains, lush forests and enchanting countryside. Many international organisations have their headquarters here, the most famous being the United Nations. The city has over 30 museums, as well as many art galleries, theatres and an opera house where an impressive number of famous artistes have appeared. Fashionable hotels, chic restaurants and elegant shops jostle for position along the flower-decked lakefront which encircles the famous “jet d’eau” fountain signalling the coming of spring each year. It spouts 140 metres over Lake Geneva shooting 500 litres of water per second.

Several local restaurants have been awarded top marks in the Michelin guide and a wide variety of cuisine is available to suit all tastes. Sports enthusiasts will find that Geneva has much to offer and golfers in particular will not want to miss the opportunity to visit at least one of the 26 golf clubs in the region.

CELLULAR PHONES AND PAGERS

As a courtesy to all meeting attendees and speakers, cellular phones, pagers and other electronic devices must be operated in silent/ vibration mode during sessions. No cellular phone conversations are permitted during sessions.

CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE

A certificate of attendance will be included in the congress bag. It can be used by the participant to claim CME points in his/her own country.

CONGRESS DATE

The meeting will start on Wednesday, 3 September 2008 and will end on Saturday, 6 September 2008.

CONGRESS DOCUMENTS AND BADGES

Congress documents should be collected on-site at the registration desk at the CMU. Name badges must be worn visibly all times during the congress and in the exhibition area.

CONGRESS ORGANISER

MCI has been selected by ESAO as the official Congress Organiser to process registrations, abstract handling, exhibition and sponsorship. All correspondence should be sent to:

ESAO 2008
c/o MCI SUISSE SA
Rue de Lyon 75
CH-1211 Geneva 13
Switzerland
Tel + 41 22 33 99 571
Fax + 41 22 33 99 601
E-mail: esao2008@mci-group.com
Website: www.mci-group.com

CONGRESS VENUE AND LOCATION

The XXXV Annual meeting of the European Society of Artificial Organs will be held at the Centre Médical Universitare (CMU), Rue Michel-Servet 1, 1206 Geneva.
The CMU is located next to the University Hospital not far away from the city centre.

How to get there:
Buses 1, 5 and 7 stop Hôpital
Bus 3 stop Claparède

FOOD AND BEVERAGE

Coffee and tea during official coffee breaks are included in the registration fee and served in the exhibition/poster area. Free Lunch boxes will be distributed around noon in the catering area. A restaurant, located on level 3 is also available in the congress centre.

GETTING AROUND IN GENEVA

Kindly note that the Geneva International Airport now offers every passenger arriving in Geneva a UNIRESO ticket free of charge, valid for 80 minutes in Geneva public transportation. You may obtain your ticket in the baggage claim area, in a dispenser located next to the conveyor belts. A valid air transportation document (Boarding Pass or Plane Ticket) must be presented in the event of ticket inspection on the network.

Visitors staying at a hotel in the Geneva canton can benefit from the “Geneva Transport Card”, with no additional cost. This personal and non-transferable pass is established upon the visitor’s check-in in the hotel of his (her) choice, enabling its holder to use of the entire public transportation network without restriction (bus, train and boat), with validity for the entire duration of his (her) stay including the departure day.

HOW TO COME TO GENEVA

Located in the centre of Europe, Geneva is easily accessible by air and train from all major European cities, and there are interesting low-budget connections from several of them. The international airport is only 15 minutes from downtown.

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE

The official meeting language is English. No simultaneous translation will be provided.

PUBLICATION POLICY

All manuscripts can be handed in at Wichtig Editore's desk during the congress. They will be considered for publication after peer review in the official ESAO journal, the International Journal of Artificial Organs (IJAO) which has now an Impact Factor of 1.3

REGISTRATION DESK OPENING HOURS

SCIENTIFIC SECRETARIAT

Beat H. Walpoth, MD, PD, FAHA
Director of Cardiovascular Research
President, European Society for Artificial Organs
Department of Surgery
University Hospital
CH-1211 GENEVA 14, Switzerland
Tel. +41 22 37 27 631 / 40
Fax +41 22 37 27 635 / 34
Email: beat.walpoth@hcuge.ch
(Mrs. M. Kaeser, secretary)

SMOKING POLICY

The congress venue is entirely non smoking.

TRAVEL INSURANCE

A personal travel insurance policy to cover theft, loss and medical problem is highly recommended. ESAO 2008 and MCI as organisers cannot accept to be held liable for any problem caused during the participant’s travel and stay at the congress.