Forty years of EACTS bring the cardiothoracic surgical community together for four days in Barcelona. The meeting combines clinical domains with innovation tracks aimed at translating research into surgical practice.
Background and organisational highlights
EACTS celebrates its 40th anniversary and supports a global community of more than 4,000 members. The association publishes the European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery and runs the Multimedia Manual of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, alongside education and quality improvement initiatives. The 2026 Annual Meeting is scheduled for 7 to 10 October in Barcelona and positions itself as the largest gathering of the cardiothoracic surgical community.
Clinical domains and focal topics
The program groups content around acquired cardiac disease, congenital heart disease, thoracic disease and aortic disease. Innovation themes feature prominently, with sessions and webinars addressing robotic surgery, digitalisation and artificial intelligence, and perioperative cellular protection and organ repair.
Practical notes for industry attendees
Dates and city are the primary logistics: the event runs from 7 to 10 October in Barcelona. EACTS runs calls for Innovation Grants and convenes an Innovation Summit that companies can target to present new devices or research-driven solutions. Industry participants should prioritise clinical evidence, safety data and clear implementation pathways when approaching surgical teams.
Actionable prospecting and networking advice
Map your outreach by clinical domain and identify clinical leads aligned with your offering. Share technical dossiers and clinical results ahead of meetings and seek formal entry points such as poster sessions and innovation forums. Use concise clinical cases and implementation checklists to streamline technical conversations with surgeons and programme managers.
Leveraging innovation schemes
Innovation Grants and the Innovation Summit provide structured opportunities to test interest and secure pilot sites. Submissions should focus on clinical endpoints, validation plans and scalability within specialised units. For medtech and clinical software vendors this is a channel to secure clinical collaborators and pilot adopters.
Closing recommendation
Prepare evidence-oriented materials and align outreach to the relevant domain to maximise engagement with surgical teams. For registration, programme details and grant calls consult the official EACTS website at http://www.eacts.org/.
Registration and tickets on the official website: eacts.org
