Less than two centuries ago, Chicago was nothing more than a smelly, swampy wetland, and during the same era, performing surgery on the heart itself was nothing more than a laughable fantasy.

Now Chicago is a glimmering city, one of the busiest in the world, and the doctors whose hands I shook… well, those hands perform open-heart surgery every day.

The American Association for Thoracic Surgery is a group as impressive as its name. From May 4^th-7^th cardiothoracic clinicians descended upon the Windy City from all corners of the globe. We represented Transonic Systems, Inc. to physicians from Kazhakstan, residents from Chile, and students from Detroit.

Flow always stimulates interest, and this year, the most keenly interested parties ranged from a pair of Chinese physicians who had never heard of us, to an American doctor who had our entire system and just wanted some smaller probes to add to his collection. Raising awareness about the essential nature of CABG flow measurement is as rewarding as taking care of current customers.

And what better place to fulfill rewarding responsibilities than with those who perform life-saving cardiovascular surgeries? AATS is not the only such society, but it is a prestigious one, so we are always glad to be there. Even Chicago herself seemed happy to participate, giving us unusually good weather right to the end.

You’ll have to permit me a sentimental moment because as I took a stroll along the river under the glittering highrises, I was struck by how far Chicago has come.

Human advancement is pell-mell, no doubt. To paraphrase a certain science fiction show, “boldly going where no one has gone before,” makes some people worry about edges of cliffs.

But we’ve come so far in a short period of time, and if you look at Chicago, and AATS, and all the talented medical professionals it hosted, I think human progress merits a little faith.

In medicine, at least.

We’ve made it this far. We’ll make it the rest of the way, wherever that leads.