BEWA 2026: Strasbourg becomes the global capital of bariatric endoscopy

From January 14 to 16, 2026, Strasbourg will host the fifth global congress of the Bariatric Endoscopy World Association (BEWA) at the Pierre-Pflimlin Convention Center, bringing together global experts in bariatric and metabolic endoscopy.

BEWA’s mission is to advance this field through research, innovation, training, and sustained international collaboration. The goal is clear: to ensure safe and effective access to endoscopic procedures for the treatment of obesity and metabolic disorders, while raising standards of care and training.

This edition will be co-chaired by Prof. Silvana Perretta, Director of Education Programs at IHU Strasbourg and a world-renowned specialist in endoscopic bariatric surgery, and Dr. Christine Stier, President of BEWA.

Three days to explore, learn, and share

• January 14: Hands-on workshops at IHU Strasbourg
  Participants will have the opportunity to put theory into practice in interactive, immersive workshops organized on the IHU Strasbourg experimental platform. A hands-on experience to refine techniques and skills under the guidance of experts.
• January 15 and 16: Conferences at Pierre-Pflimlin Convention Center
  Two days of presentations and discussions highlighting the latest innovations and research.

An international community dedicated to innovation
With participants from around the world, BEWA aims to be a place for direct exchanges, enriching discussions, and lasting collaborations. Each event—session, workshop, and meeting—contributes to improving patient care in a spirit of clinical excellence.

Learn more about BEWA and its mission: www.bewa-endoscopy.com
Registration: www.bewa-endoscopy.com/registration

IHU Strasbourg: A Confirmed Commitment to Good Laboratory Practices (GLP)

IHU Strasbourg announces the renewal of its GLP compliance for the evaluation of medical devices, following the inspection conducted by the ANSM (French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety) in October 2025. The institute first obtained this compliance in 2021—an unprecedented achievement for a research center—then renewed it in 2023 and now again in 2025. This recognition reaffirms the institute’s ability to conduct preclinical studies that meet the highest standards for medical device evaluation.

Good Laboratory Practices: A Key Framework for Non-Clinical Evaluation

GLP compliance, defined according to OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) guidelines, ensures the quality, traceability, and reliability of scientific data. It is essential for supporting clinical trial applications and market authorization submissions for medical devices.

With this renewed compliance, IHU Strasbourg strengthens its position as an internationally recognized key partner for companies aiming to bring innovative medical devices to market.

Tailored to Industry Needs, Backed by IHU Expertise

The IHU team supports its partners throughout every stage of their projects:

• Study plan design

• Development of state-of-the-art preclinical models

• Execution of experiments on a world-unique image-guided surgery platform

• Production of final reports suitable for regulatory submissions

IHU Strasbourg operates across all fields of image-guided minimally invasive surgery through a multidisciplinary network of experts—surgeons, endoscopists, and interventional radiologists—and also offers customized training sessions tailored to the deployment of innovative medical devices.

A Contract Research Offering Powered by IHU’s Scientific Excellence

This renewed GLP compliance illustrates IHU Strasbourg’s ongoing commitment to quality and scientific excellence in minimally invasive, image-guided surgery enhanced by artificial intelligence and robotics. It consolidates the institute’s role as a preferred partner for medical device companies as well as research laboratories seeking to transfer innovative technologies.

For any inquiries regarding contract research at IHU, please contact:
Amélie GRESSIER, Preclinical activities Manager
amelie.gressier@ihu-strasbourg.eu

IHU Strasbourg is a partner in the European TEF-HEALTH consortium (Testing and Experimentation Facility for Health) dedicated to AI- and robotics-based medical devices.

Medical robotics and telesurgery: the 5G-OR project presented at ROSCon FR&DE 2025

On November 20, 2025, IHU Strasbourg was pleased to host ROSCon FR&DE 2025, organized by the ICube laboratory at the University of Strasbourg, an event bringing together the French and German communities around ROS2 and advanced robotics.

Julian Rosenkranz, Fraunhofer IPA Mannheim

On this occasion, Julian Rosenkranz (Fraunhofer IPA Mannheim) and Dr Alain Garcia (IHU Strasbourg) presented the Franco-German 5G-OR project during a tour of the medical robotics facilities at IHU Strasbourg. The focus was on robot-assisted telesurgery with haptic feedback – made possible by the IHU’s and Fraunhofer IPA interoperable 5G private networks and a ROS2-based system architecture.

Dr Alain Garcia, IHU Strasbourg

Key points of the demonstration

• Real-time haptics via 5G: ultra-low latency, high bandwidth, and licensed frequencies for stable, interference-free teleoperation.
• ROS2 as the backbone of integration: distributed management, robust pipelines for force and position data, and QoS/DDS.
• Connected operating rooms Mannheim ↔ Strasbourg: local and remote control of devices, enabling inter-site collaborative work.
• Interdisciplinary Franco-German collaboration: engineers, clinicians, and researchers working together to integrate robotics into the medical workflow.

Outlook

Collaboration continues with the DAIOR project, where Fraunhofer IPA and IHU Strasbourg are developing AI-assisted latency compensation and multimodal telesurgery solutions, reinforcing European leadership in surgical robotics and digital surgery.

Read more:

• https://www.fraunhofer.de/en/press/research-news/2024/november-2024/5g-in-the-or-advances-in-technology-unlock-opportunities-for-hospitals.html
• https://www.ihu-strasbourg.eu/projet-5g-or-pari-reussi-pour-le-lancement-de-la-salle-doperation-du-futur/

The IA Grand Est ENACT is spotlighting Nicolas Padoy, Scientific Director of the IHU Strasbourg and Director of Research in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence. His work focuses on developing innovative solutions for AI-assisted surgery, combining computer vision, machine learning, and robotics.

Nicolas Padoy © Enact

This spotlight highlights ENACT’s commitment to promoting AI research chairs in the Grand Est region and underscores Nicolas Padoy’s key role in integrating these technologies into healthcare.

Read the full article on the ENACT website:
https://cluster-ia-enact.ai/coup-de-projecteur-sur-nos-chaires-de-recherche-nicolas-padoy/

To go further:

• https://www.unistra.fr/fr/actualites/recherche/2025/portraits-des-porteuses-et-porteurs-des-chaires-recherche-ia-grand-enact
• https://factuel.univ-lorraine.fr/article/cluster-ia-grand-est-coup-de-projecteur-sur-les-chaires-de-recherche-enact-nicolas-padoy/

Date: 11/13/2025

Dear students,
Dear IHU employees, Dear partners,

We wish to inform you that a personal data breach was identified in November 2025 within our IT system. This involved the hacking of a Microsoft account belonging to one of our staff members.

This breach could affect personal data stored in our systems: diplomas, resumes, training records, photographs, etc. belonging to students, IHU employees, fellows, and experts. This breach has resulted in a loss of confidentiality for the personal data concerned.

As soon as this incident was detected, technical and organizational measures were immediately put in place to secure our systems and limit the risks. The password for the Microsoft 365 account affected by the hack was immediately changed and all access was revoked. A check of other internal accounts is being carried out. Two-factor authentication will be rapidly reinforced by our institution to strengthen the security of personal accounts.

The French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) has been informed of the breach. A complaint has also been filed with the public prosecutor.

Due to the nature and volume of the information concerned, it is not possible for us to identify and contact all the individuals concerned individually. The method adopted is to notify some of the individuals concerned who are at high risk individually and to publish information on the website.

We urge you to be extremely vigilant about the risk of fraudulent emails, text messages, or phone calls.

If you suspect anything unusual, please contact the official digital victim assistance service at: www.cybermalveillance.gouv.fr to report it and assert your rights.
If you have any questions or requests for information, please contact us by email at: dpo@ihu-strasbourg.eu or by post, indicating your email address:

Institut de Chirurgie guidée par l’Image (IHU Strasbourg) – DPO
1 place de l’Hôpital – 67091 Strasbourg Cedex, France.

We deeply regret this incident and assure you that we take the protection of your data very seriously. We are committed to implementing all necessary measures to prevent any similar incidents in the future.

We thank you for your understanding and trust.

Sincerely,
Christian DEBRY
Chief Executive Officer

IHU Strasbourg and the CAMMA Team Stand Out at MICCAI 2025, the Leading Conference for Research in Digital Surgery.

CAMMA (Computer Assisted Medical and Minimally-invasive Applications), a joint team between IHU Strasbourg and the ICube laboratory of the University of Strasbourg, made a strong showing at the 28th edition of the MICCAI Conference (Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Interventions), held in Daejeon, South Korea, from September 23 to 27, 2025. Led by Prof. Nicolas Padoy, Scientific Director and Head of Computer Science and AI Research at IHU Strasbourg, CAMMA has risen to the top tier of global research teams in surgical data science and artificial intelligence.

An Exemplary Scientific Output

Six articles were accepted and presented at the main conference following a highly selective process (overall acceptance rate of 29%), confirming CAMMA’s scientific excellence. This year, the articles focused on four themes:

• Multimodal and weakly supervised learning,
• 3D modeling of surgical scenes,
• Recognition of surgical activities,
• AI applied to gynecological oncology.

One of the articles was awarded the MICCAI 2025 Young Scientist Award.

At the crossroads of research and entrepreneurship

The innovative momentum at IHU Strasbourg has once again been demonstrated with the creation of a spin-off based on CAMMA’s work, Scialytics, which is developing an artificial intelligence ecosystem designed to measure and reduce surgical risks. Scialytics was awarded second prize in the Startup Village Pitch Competition, recognizing its potential for clinical, technological, and entrepreneurial impact.

CLINICCAI – A successful fifth edition

Created in 2021 during the MICCAI congress in Strasbourg by Prof. Nicolas Padoy, CLINICCAI (Clinical Translation of Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention) has established itself as a key event of the congress.

The 2025 edition once again attracted a large audience of researchers, clinicians, and industry professionals, confirming its role as an essential platform for exchanges between science, technology, and clinical practice.

Dr. Pietro Mascagni, clinical research advisor specializing in artificial intelligence and medical informatics at IHU Strasbourg, spoke at the “From Idea to Product” panel, sharing his experience in transforming technological innovations into concrete clinical solutions.

Major international challenges and workshops

The IHU and CAMMA have also contributed to several major initiatives:

• SAGES Critical View of Safety (CVS) Lighthouse Challenge, organized in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the prestigious Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES). This competition mobilized the global surgical AI community around a single goal: to improve the automated assessment of critical safety views in laparoscopic cholecystectomy, with record numbers: 1,000 surgical videos from 24 countries, 67 contributing surgeons, 5,400 annotations produced, and 35 methods proposed by 14 teams.

• The MICCAI CREATE workshop, dedicated to clinical robotics and embodied artificial intelligence, was a highlight with a presentation by Nicolas Padoy: “Harnessing the Power of Vision and Language to Improve Surgical Safety.”

These achievements illustrate the mission of the IHU Strasbourg and CAMMA at MICCAI 2025: to bring together academic research excellence, technological innovation, and clinical impact to transform the surgery of tomorrow.

Ressources :

• CLINICCAI 2025 : https://conferences.miccai.org/2025/en/CLINICAL-DAY.html
• SAGES CVS Lighthouse Challenge : https://www.cvschallenge.org/
• MICCAI CREATE Workshop “Efficient Medical AI”
  “Harnessing the Power of Vision and Language to Improve Surgical Safety” :
  https://sites.google.com/view/create-miccai-2025
• AE-CAI | CARE | OR 2.0 : https://workshops.ap-lab.ca/aecai2025/program/
• Scialytics : https://www.scialytics.io/