About the Award

Objectives and Guidelines

WeBSurg is extremely pleased to launch the first ''WeBSurg Award'', a video contest addressed to surgeons in minimal access surgery worldwide.

The objective is to honor the best academic videos in the field of minimally invasive surgery including robotic-assisted surgery, interventional GI endoscopy and N.O.T.E.S (Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery). ''WeBSurg Award'' will recognize and present prestigious prizes to surgeons contributing to the body of knowledge in evidence-based surgery. You may submit videos related to the following specialities: General and digestive surgery, Endocrine surgery, Pediatric surgery, Thoracic surgery, Urology, Gynecology, Cardiovascular surgery. It is to be noted that the best rated videos once online will then remain on WeBSurg.com website.

Description of prizes

1st prize:
KARL STORZ fully equipped endoscopic video tower
Bonus: invitation to any given EITS course program as a Faculty member (offered by IRCAD/EITS).

2nd prize:
KARL STORZ video unit.

3rd prize:
KARL STORZ set of laparoscopic instruments.

For the following 27 nominees:
An Apple® iPod Touch (offered by IRCAD/EITS).

Please note: any prize granted by KARL STORZ may be subject to modification depending on the surgical speciality of the nominee.

Official jury

The jury will be composed of internationally recognized academic surgeons in minimally invasive surgery.

President: IRCAD/EITS, University of Strasbourg,Strasbourg (France)
Jacques MARESCAUX

International Committee:

Mehran ANVARI	Canada
Michael BAILEY	United Kingdom
Garth BALLANTYNE	United States
Markus W. BUECHLER	Germany
Francesco CORCIONE	Italy
Michael EDYE	United States
Jose Maria FRANCI	Argentina
Karl-Hermann FUCHS	Germany
Richard J HEALD	United Kingdom
Masaki KITAJIMA	Japan
Paolo MICCOLI	Italy

Adrian PARK	United States
Eric RULLIER	France
Barry SALKY	United States
Nat SOPER	United States
Lee SWANSTROM	United States
Nobuhiko TANIGAWA	Japan
Eduardo TARGARONA	Spain
Hurng-Sheng WU	Taiwan
Chung Kwong YEUNG	China
Minhua ZHENG	China

Local Committee: IRCAD/EITS, University of Strasbourg,Strasbourg (France)
Bernard DALLEMAGNE
Joël LEROY
Didier MUTTER
Christian SAUSSINE
Michele SIMONE
Michel VIX
Arnaud WATTIEZ

Calendar

May 31, 2007:
deadline for video submissions.

End of September 2007:
Pre-selection of the 30 best videos.

Beginning of December 2007:
the 30 best videos will be published on award.websurg.com to allow rating by the WeBSurg members.

End of December 2007:
jury final decision.

Early 2008:
All the videos of the 30 laureates will be published gradually on WeBSurg.com.

Video technical criteria

A video suitable for selection must be neatly edited. An educational message must be conveyed and must be therefore clearly narrated. High quality, high resolution images are of utmost importance.

Videos may be of variable length depending on the intervention. However, they must be 10 minutes long ideally, and should not exceed 25 minutes.
Only digital format will be accepted (DVCam, Hi8, MiniDV, DVD, DVPro, CD-Rom); the encoding format must be either MPEG 1, 2, 4 or DV. Other formats, including VHS and S-VHS, will not be considered.
Videos should be produced in English. However, if they are not, a script in English must also be provided. Videos must not include any excessive background music.

All video submissions must comply with the technical criteria herewith stated.

Important notice

The representation of a surgical instrument of a specific make or brand is allowed insofar as it is accessory. Videos containing any strong publicity will not be considered for the contest.