OBITUARY

In memoriam—Eulogy to Lodewijk Bos

Luis Kun

Published online: 1 April 2015
# IUPESM and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015

Losing a colleague unexpectedly, at any time in your
life, is a very sad and confusing time. Yet it is a reality
check that combines the good times spent together with
the sadness of the news and a reflection regarding our
own mortality. When this person is, in addition, a good
friend, the task of writing a eulogy becomes more dif-
ficult because your heart and sentiments interfere deeply
with the logic of writing a piece in this precise moment
where all you want is to focus on the departed one and
find the right words to honor him.

Although what follows are mostly personal observa-
tions, I have tried to project what his life and work
meant to others. Obviously each of you, who knew
him, either personally or professionally, may have other
stories to share. During the World Congress 2015 of
Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering (WC
2015) that will take place in Toronto, I am planning
(with my colleague, Andre Linnenbank) to have a spe-
cial session to honor Lodewijk. I hope that you will be
able to join us on that occasion to share with us your
own stories. I met Lodewijk many years ago through
my friend Swamy (Laxminarayan) and instantly our
minds Bconnected^. Unfortunately with Swamy’s unex-
pected passing away in September 2005, already 9 years
ago, the dynamics changed. Since then, Swamy’s youn-
gest brother, Raj, and I became very close friends and I
invited him to come to Munich for WC 2009. During
the inaugural party I introduced him to Lodewijk and
instantly a great friendship got expanded one more time.

Both Lodewijk and Raj became part of IFMBE’s Global
Citizen Safety and Security Working Group. Since the
summer of 2010, I had the pleasure and honor of work-
ing with Lodewijk as co-Editors-in-Chief of the Journal
of Health and Technology, co-owned by Springer and
IUPESM. We co-wrote the inaugural editorial entitled:
BJust another journal? No, a different one!^ (Introducto-
ry Editorial). Health and Technology. URL:http://www.
springerlink.com/content/w8383115811w8g7g/

That editorial reflects well the spirit we shared.
Lodewijk didn’t share much information regarding his

family, however at a personal level, on 19 August 2011 he
wrote: B I have the sad duty of informing you of the passing
away of my mother (the day before), leaving behind her hus-
band of almost 57 years, 2 sons, a daughter and a daughter in
law as well as 4 grandchildren^.

1 Wired Differently

To say that Lodewijk was Bdifferent and unusual^ would not
be enough to explain what his approach really meant to an
ordinary person. His candor and appreciation of life was such
that sharing circumstances that others would consider private
or out of line, was, for him, normal. Lodewijk believed not
only that social media was useful for communication and dis-
semination purposes, but that individuals around the globe
could improve (the health of others suffering from similar
conditions) outcomes by sharing their own experiences, good
and bad, so that we could all have a set of Blessons learned^
derived from our own living experiences.

Here is an example of some segments he wrote on his
personal blog entitled: Life of a Chemo Patient Lodewijk
Bos’ Personal Blog—Unhappy again (and which can be
found http://lodewijkbos.com/2012/08/17/unhappy-again/ ~

L. Kun (*)
Chair IFMBE’s Global Citizen Safety and Security Working Group,
Washington, DC, USA
e-mail: hcii@aol.com

Health Technol. (2014) 4:295–298
DOI 10.1007/s12553-015-0101-7

http://www.springerlink.com/content/w8383115811w8g7g/
http://www.springerlink.com/content/w8383115811w8g7g/
http://lodewijkbos.com/2012/08/17/unhappy-again/


by lodewijk bos on August 17, 2012) demonstrating how
different Lodewijk was:

On July 2 I had to have surgery on my left foot, as
something was growing out of the side of it. As my GP
told me that it was a tumor, although for the appearance
of it benign, I decided to pay a visit to my oncologist, just
to get an informed diagnosis. My oncologist called a
dermatologist and both came to the conclusion that it
most definitely was benign. As it was at the inner outside
of the foot, it was beginning to hinder my walking abil-
ities, already not the best part of my motorcapacities. So
to surgery it went. And from there on it went wrong,
seriously wrong. I was told I should not stand or walk
on that foot for at least 2 days. And I was sent off, on
foot. So by the time I arrived at the reception desk 5
floors down there was a whole blood trail running
through the building. I was given new bandaging and
this time someone went to find a wheelchair. I was told
the bandages could be taken off after 2 days. Fortunate-
ly I kept the information of the wound nurse that helped

my to get through the open leg ordeal, 2.5 years ago.
She came and started to take away the bandages. Her
first words were BThat could have been done nicer .̂
Nobody was really surprised when the next day the
threads tore and left a quite big open wound. I will save
you the panicking discussion with the surgeon who had
the impression he had seen something malign on the
removed tissue, so suggested to take away a larger piece
of the foot and cover it with some skin transplant. It was
the surgeon’s proposal, although it was decided that my
oncologist would take the lead if necessary. The sur-
geon’s call came on Friday midday so I didn’t talk to
my oncologist till Monday. He completely annulled the
surgeon’s decisions.
It took weeks to find out that when left alone, the healing
speed of the wound could easily be beaten by the slowest
kind of snail. So the nurse suggested to use a new kind of
bandage Promogran Prisma. And lo and behold, it
seems to work. However, since we started the
Promogran, my neuropathy worsened. The open wound
on top of my neuropathy was already hell, but that

Fig. 1 World Congress, Munich September 2009, at the inaugural party from right to left: Lodewijk Bos, Rajaram Lakshminarayan and Luis Kun

296 Health Technol. (2014) 4:295–298



diminished considerably after a couple of days. Howev-
er, after applying the new bandage, my foot started hurt-
ing much more, but above all, my chemo brain came
back in full force. When I get out of bed I stumble,
having to catch myself not to fall. After 5 min that acute
problem disappears (balancing problems remain how-
ever), but then the next one appears. My eyes start to
spontaneously turn direction nose bridge, as if I were
squinting. Which makes concentrating a very complicat-
ed business. Combined with the physical balance prob-
lems, it leaves me, activity wise, almost paralyzed. Oh,
and my tinnitus is worse than it has been for years. So I
sincerely hope that the wound heals soon. As you can
see from the picture, walking is no option, the wound is
over 1.5 cms large. Oh, and if you know of any neurol-
ogist who might be knowledgeable about this kind of
problems (see BChemo brain. Recognition^?), Bplease
contact me in the comment field.^

Lodewijk Bos was a person of vision who understood strat-
egy very well. He was a trusted individual and his integrity
and quality of outcomes were unsurpassed. Yet his operational

capacity, to me, was one of the most impressive characteristics
he had and that I have ever encountered before I met him. It
was always a pleasure discussing with him any type of chal-
lenge we encountered because of his disposition to listen and
to implement quickly whatever was decided or needed. For
example due to his effort, personal involvement and commit-
ment, every time you attended the ICMCC annual conference,
as you registered the first day to the meeting, you were given a
hard-bound book which contained all the papers to be
presented.

After Swamy died in 2005, the BSwamy Laxminarayan
Lecture^ was created and the first to deliver this keynote
was Prof. Brian O’Connell, former President of the IEEE So-
ciety of Social Implications of Technology (SSIT). Unfortu-
nately, Brian died shortly after this event and within 24 h of
my informing Lodewijk, the ICMCC website posted news of
Brian’s death and an account of his professional life.

In June 2009 my colleague Robert Mathews and I put to-
gether an Interoperability Summit entitled Healthcare Reform
or Healthcare Transformation at the National Academy of
Science / Engineering in Washington DC. About 30 profes-
sional organizations (i.e., ICMCC, IFMBE, SSIT, AIMBE,

Fig. 2 Five years later in September 2013, during MEDICON 2013 in Sevilla, Spain, during the final dinner ceremony we met again. From left to right:
Robert Istepanian, Luis Kun, Lodewijk Bos and Rajaram Lakshminarayan enjoying BLaura Roa’s party^

Health Technol. (2014) 4:295–298 297



EMBS, Computer Society, etc.) and 23 different Federal
Agencies / Departments attended as well as many of you.
Lodewijk’s website was the first place where any type of com-
ments regarding this meeting was published.

In March 2011, during the Fukushima earthquake—tsuna-
mi and later nuclear / radiation crisis, through the IFMBE
Global Citizen Safety and Security Working Group I was try-
ing to help colleagues and the people from Japan. I spoke with
Lodewijk and within 24 h he had at the ICMCC website a blog
where individuals could ask questions and relevant materials
could be shared.

I saw him for the last time at the MEDICON 2013 dinner
(Fig. 2). We spoke a lot during the summer months since in
August we were publishing this special issue of the Journal on
BGlobal Citizen Safety and Security.^ As usual he was very
excited and pleased with the outcome.

As I was leaving the CDC in Atlanta to come to the Wash-
ington area, a dear friend gave me a poem entitled: BSuccess^,
by Ralph Waldo Emerson .

SUCCESS
To laugh often and much
to win the respect
of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation
of honest critics and endure
the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty,
to find the best in others;

to leave the world
a bit better, whether
by a healthy child,
a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;
to know even one life
has breathed easier
because you have lived.
That is to have succeeded.

I believe that Lodewijk Bos not only fits this definition of
success but has joined now a list of colleagues who departed
earlier and who have made the lives of many better. I am very
sad for his sudden disappearance from our lives, yet I am
thankful for having the opportunity to meet him and share
moments of my life with him and all of those whom I met
through him.

Please let me or Andre know if you are interested in par-
ticipating in a special Memorial session to be held during WC
2015 in Toronto. Part of the session will be presentation of
technical papers. Immediately before or after this session, a
second part sponsored by the IFMBE Global Citizen Safety
and Security WG will be of a social nature, with the purpose of
allowing those of you wishing to share stories about
Lodewijk. We are hoping Lodewijk’s brother will be able to
join us.

Thank you Lodewijk for your contributions, for your
friendship and for sharing yourself with us.

You will not be forgotten … Your friend and colleague,
Luis Kun

298 Health Technol. (2014) 4:295–298


	In memoriam—Eulogy to Lodewijk Bos
	Wired Differently