North American Neuromodulation Society is a scientific organization that serves to promote and advance neuromodulation as a treatment for various diseases.
Contents
History
NANS was founded in 1994 as the American Neuromodulation Society. It was renamed the North American Neuromodulation Society in 1999.
American Neuromodulation Society
The American Neuromodulation Society was the brain-child of Ballard Wright, MD and Barry N. Strauss, MD. Dr. Wright was largely responsible for incorporating and establishing ANS as a non-profit organization in the United States. In the early days, with Dr. Wright volunteering to be the initial Executive Director, the society offices operated through his offices in Lexington, Kentucky. The organization briefly changed its acronym to ANmS to avoid confusion because a company previously named Neuromed adopted the ANS acronym.
Today
NANS developed out of the American Neuromodulation Society and has evolved into an organization whose membership in the past 2 years has grown to more than 800 members, signifying growing interest in this specialty. The majority of these members are working in pain related disciplines, although members in areas such as epilepsy, urinary incontinence, angina, and movement disorders are also represented. Medical specialties represented in the membership include: anesthesiology, neurosurgery, neurology, PM&R, gastroenterology, urology and basic science. In addition, NANS has taken active participation in opening forums for presenting the work of those who deal with functional electrical stimulation for patients with tetraplegia (quadriplegia) and paraplegia or paralysis due to brain injury and stroke. Approximately 800-1000 participants attended the recent annual scientific meeting at the Wynn Las Vegas. The official Journal of NANS' parent organization the International Neuromodulation Society and its chapters is Neuromodulation: Technology at the Neural Interface. Published 8 times per year, the journal is MEDLINE-indexed.
Annual Meeting
The 15th Annual Meeting of the North American Neuromodulation Society was held in Las Vegas, Nevada from December 8–11, 2011, at the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. The 16th Annual Meeting will also be held at the Wynn Las Vegas from December 6–9, 2012.
Presidents
Relationship with International Neuromodulation Society
International Neuromodulation Society (INS) was founded in 1992, to sensitize the international medical community to the concept of neuromodulation as an emerging multidisciplinary field. The North American Neuromodulation Society is a regional chapter of the INS, which each hold regional annual scientific meetings.