The 99th RSNA will open today
The “North America” is somewhat of a misnomer for the Radiological Society of North America. Of its 53,000+ members, 25% live and work in 138 countries outside North America.
The society’s annual meeting in Chicago – this year scheduled December 1-6 – attracts a global contingent. In 2012, 37% were international attendees, presenting more than half of the scientific sessions and posters.
The achievements of French radiologists are in the spotlight this year. “France Presents” will include a special session on oncologic imaging as well as other activities and services focusing on France’s contribution to the RSNA annual meeting. Dr. Nicolas Grenier, professor of radiology at the University of Bordeaux, who will chair the session, said that the Société Francaise de Radiologie (SFR) chose this topic because so much is happening between diagnosis and interventional radiology with respect to cancer imaging.
This collaborative work fits into the RSNA 2013 theme: the power of partnership. Starting with the annual oration in diagnostic radiology, the plenary sessions focus on the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration. Dr. Damian E. Dupuy, director of tumor ablation at Rhode Island Hospital and a professor of diagnostic imaging at the Warren Alpert Medical School of BROWN University in Providence, will discuss the importance of collaboration between radiation and radiation oncology departments. This theme is continued with the annual oration in radiation oncology, being presented by Dr. Paul M. Harari, chair of the department of human oncology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public health.
The two lectures of the RSNA/American Society of Physicists in Medicine Symposium feature imaging in partnership with radiation therapy and with quantitative medicine. And finally, the importance of research of normal and neoplastic stem cells and the implications of discoveries to radiological sciences will be the subject of the Eugene P. Pendergrass New Horizons Lecture. This will be presented by Dr. Irving L. Weissman, professor for clinical investigation in cancer research at Stanford University School of Medicine and director of its Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.
This year, the number of scientific sessions, posters and educational exhibits have increased in every category. 235 refresher courses will be offered. Over 13,390 abstracts were submitted this year; 2,775 were chosen for formal or informal scientific presentations as well as 2,223 education exhibits. Expanding this year as well is the Virtual Meeting, enabling meeting registrants to watch more than 40 live streaming courses from the day they are presented through 12 December. These include plenary sessions, multisession and refresher courses, scientific sessions, the image interpretation session and cases of the day.
Attendees may focus on 20 clinical disciplines in radiology/radiation oncology, as well as the topics of education, quality assurance and improvement, research and statistical methods, medical physics, and of course informatics. There will be dedicated “campus” locations in McCormic Place for pediatric imaging and nuclear medicine/molecular imaging. That facilitate meet and mingle interactions as both a presentation and daily luncheon venue.
The Lakeside Learning Center will again include the futuristic Quantitative Imaging Reading Room Showcase, which highlights products and applications that integrate qualitative analysis and structured reporting into the interpretations process. More educational presentations and posters than ever will be in electronic viewing format rather than in a traditional poster. But there will be a new element; some posters and presentations embedding interactive elements, such as videos that can be viewed on attendees’ mobile devices.
As always, attendees should plan carefully, dress warmly, and make some time after hours for Chicago’s cultural and culinary delights.
26.11.2013
