th ® Dear Colleague and Participant of the 12 International BIOLOX Symposium ® It is an honor for CeramTec to have the BIOLOX Symposium in Asia. The selection of Seoul, Korea as the site was a difficult one due to the fact that there are many wonderful location options in this dynamic and fast growing region of the world. The selection was made easier by the outstanding support of our Symposium Chairman, Prof. Chang, as well as the excellent airline service and meeting facilities present in Seoul. We hope that conducting the Symposium in this region will serve as a foundation for the increased recognition of the potential patient benefits to be derived from the use of ceramics and other alternative bearing technologies in Korea, China, India, Japan and the rest of the countries of the region. We are convinced that the high quality of the program organized by the scientific committee, the prestigious faculty assembled and your contributions as participants will serve as a catalyst in order to make this Symposium a very enlightening and worthwhile personal experience for all. In order to enhance the value of the experience we are pleased to include this proceedings book as an integral part of your registration materials. We hope that this written more complete version of the scientific program will allow you to carry home a more concise view of the Symposium presentations.