ICS eLearning center

The International Continence Society has posted 4 on line courses.  These are available free of charge to members and provide a great wealth of information.  This is an active ICS project with more courses being developed.  Check back here for new courses.   At the bottom of the page other resource links are also provided. 

Brain and Bladder Registered

The proposed course aims at bringing together researchers who are using brain functional imaging methods to study bladder brain interactions. Knowledge about brain-bladder control is emerging rapidly but there has yet to be a meeting of those engaged in this work.
Prof. Fowler will start the course with a review of the studies in the past decade that have formed the body of knowledge in brain-bladder control. Prof. Griffiths will talk about his experimental method for study of storage function in the MR scanner and the role of specific regions activated during storage, urgency and detrusor overactivity. Prof. Tadic will talk about brain-bladder research in older subjects with urge urinary incontinence and use of novel methods to study the effects of aging (e.g. age-related white matter changes or white matter hyperintensities) on bladder control. Prof. Kuhtz-Buschbeck will present his group’s findings concerning brain representation of pelvic floor muscles (PFM) and strong desire to void in normal volunteers; while Prof. DiGangi-Herms will review her data on cortical reorganization and outcome after PFM training in women with SUI. Prof. Mehnert will talk about the cortical substrate of bladder perception & control in patients with incomplete SCI and healthy control.


 Headache in the Pelvis - chronic pelvic pain Registered

There will be first an introduction by Ragi Doggweiler and Jeannette Potts on the history and diagnosis of interstitial cystitis/ painful bladder syndrome and chronic prostatitis/ chronic pelvic pain syndrome.
Then David Wise, co-author with Rodney Anderson of the book, A Headache in the Pelvis, will present his own personal and clinical experience with pelvic pain and the change of paradigms in urology from viewing prostatitis and related pelvic pain syndromes moving conceptually from a prostate, bladder and organ centered disorder, to a psychoneuromuscular disorder. He will discuss the physical therapy and behaviour components for what is now known as the Stanford Protocol for prostatitis and related pelvic pain syndromes. He will preview a new device for patient self treatment of internal trigger points.
Fetske Hogen Esch will present the European approach to the treatment of chronic pelvic pain.
At the end will be few case presentations. The audience will be invited to present cases themselves to hear the opinion of the speakers


 Overactive Bladder - Do we need a new paradigm? Registered

The (ICS) defines overactive bladder (OAB) as "urgency, with or without urge incontinence, usually with frequency and nocturia…if there is no proven infection or other etiology." Urinary urgency is the cornerstone of the diagnosis of overactive bladder (OAB), yet the definitions of urinary urgency and OAB have been the source of some controversy and, in our opinion, are much too restrictive. The aim of this workshop is to: 1) explore the definition of both of these terms, 2) propose a grading and scoring system for urgency and OAB, 3) recommend a urodynamic classification system of OAB, and 4) offer a diagnostic algorithm for evaluation based on the known etiologies of OAB.

 Urodynamic equipment - limitations and challenges Registered

Urodynamic equipment - what is desirable, unnecessary, incorrect
ICS guidelines - how we got here, where we are heading.
A standard for urodynamic equipment - feasible or risible?
The ICS data file format - underused and overdue for use.
Urodynamics plus - linking urodynamics with methods of pelvic floor assessment.