BOSTON, August 1 -- A total of 1525 attended Photonics Boston 2002 and ITCom -- a healthy showing that indicates the photonics market is still strong in the Northeast, said Scott Walker, SPIE's event project manager. Because of its location in the Marriott Copley Place, the exhibit is rather small -- 53 companies; yet over 300 exhibit attendees showed up the first day, Walker said. In addition, a workshop featuring speakers from many of Boston's leading biomedical institutions played to a standing-room only crowd. Linda Smith's forum on photonics integration and Sergio Fantini's biomedical optics were especially well-attended, he said. The final attendance breakdown included 730 technical attendees (including about 120 Photonics Boston industry forum attendees), 560 exhibit-only walk-ins, and 120 exhibit representatives. "The ITCom symposium shows growth in many conferences, despite the current telecom slowdone. This would indicate research is still quite strong in the field," Walker said. "All in all, this four-day event worked quite well, while Boston sizzled in the heat," said Walker.