The EAU Sections of Uro-Technology, Urolithiasis and Robotic Urology (ESUT, EULIS and ERUS) are gearing up for another joint meeting under the UROtech banner after a successful first edition in Istanbul in May 2022. EULIS Chair Prof. Christian Seitz’s (AT) department in Vienna will be hosting UROtech24 on 25-27 January 2024. Prof. Seitz reflects on the first edition and the ambitions for the UROtech24.
“Urotech22 was, apart from our regular collaboration at the Annual EAU Congress, the first collaboration of our sections for a three-day event. I think it was well-received by the audience. One thing we learned is that the best-attended sessions were the live and semi-live surgical sessions. People are eager for practical information to take home and use themselves.”
“For 2024 we will aim to again offer at least three session rooms with parallel programmes on different aspects of technology and surgery. Additionally, we will have sessions on the latest science and research, abstract sessions and hands-on training courses. The live surgery will be broadcasted on three screens simultaneously, with highly-distinguished moderators. This is an important and attractive part of the UROtech scientific programme and essential to keep. We hope to have at least two days of live surgery.”
“Finally, we learned that people were eager to meet up in person and exchange knowledge again after the pandemic. Just like EAU23 in Milan proved, we think we will have good attendance figures in Vienna next January.” UROtech22 was one of the first EAU events held in relatively normal circumstances following the lockdown conditions of 2020 and 2021 when it took place in Istanbul in May 2022.
- Registration for UROtech24 is currently open! The early registration fee is available until 26 October 2023.
- Abstract submission for UROtech24 is open until 2 October 2023.
Hot topics
UROtech24 promises to offer delegates coverage of a lot of hot topics in different subfields. On the topic of stone disease, Prof. Seitz sees the presentation of new suction/irrigation systems, lithotripsy devices, and laser settings as the most topical. “But as we saw at EAU23, the people using these new devices are still exploring their capabilities and there is a lot of research to be done.”
“Beyond technology in surgery, we are also seeing new technological developments in research, like the coming of AI and how it can or will be applied in our field. In basic research, and especially in the genetic field AI is coming. This will more and more influence our practice, I think this is something that urologists need to stay up to date with and definitely something we will see in the sessions at UROtech24.”
“Beyond stones, of course, because of demographic in Europe we are seeing a lot of developments in the treatment of BPH, prostate cancer, renal and urothelial cancer. We will be comparing all of the different technical approaches that the urologist has at his or her disposal, including new robotic platforms. Technical developments affect all subspecialties of urology in different ways.”
Collaborative meeting
“Urology is a broad field, so offering participants the chance to see various topics and speakers at a scientific meeting, this is a big plus. As urologists we work not only on stones, not only on cancer, not only on certain disease entities, but, highly-specialised university centres aside, we treat patients with a wide variety of conditions in most of our hospitals.”
“UROtech24 offers participants an opportunity to see all areas that urologists work in, with practical tips and tricks demonstrating the treatment options. That’s the most important advantage of the cooperation between our sections.”
“Less importantly for the participants but from an organisational perspective: having a collaborative meeting like this makes holding a meeting of this size, quality and complexity more feasible. We can attract the best speakers, involve them in different aspects of the meeting and in the end it’s also a matter of cost and time efficiency.”
Vienna as a host
Prof. Seitz’s department at the Vienna General Hospital will host the surgeons that are coming to Vienna to operate on local patients.
“The team is certainly experienced with live surgery. Already in 2017 we hosted a EULIS meeting which included live surgery. Our surgical department regularly hosts live surgery events as well. We constantly give courses, or record operations, and we just recently had a workshop. We completely expect to rise to the challenge of hosting a live surgery event next January.”
“The General Hospital is one of the leading university hospitals in Europe. It has 6000 employees, some 30 lab institutes and we were recently ranked 30th best hospital in the world according to the latest Newsweek report. The university itself, founded in 1365, is one of the oldest and most distinguished in Europe.”
“Vienna is undoubtedly worth visiting, it draws people from all over the world and we get millions of visitors each year. You don’t need to be a history lover to enjoy the many landmarks from the Habsburg days. We have a lot of museums like the Natural History Museum, or the Museum of Fine Arts. I think a must-visit for our audience is the Josephinum Medical Museum with many unique objects from our field’s past. You won’t find anything like it elsewhere in the world.”
“In a nod to UROtech22 in Istanbul, we also inherited our coffee culture from the Ottomans. I hope our participants get a chance to enjoy a Sachertorte, Apfelstrudel or Kaiserschmarrn when they visit us.”
