Highlights from the scientific and educational abstracts presented at the ASER 2017 annual scientific meeting and postgraduate course

The annual meeting of the American Society of Emergency Radiology (ASER) took place in Toronto, Canada, on September 6 through September 9, 2017. Attendees represented the USA as well as international emergency radiology communities, including those from academic, private practice, and teleradiology settings. There were several “members in training” in attendance as well. The meeting again featured the “Trauma Head to Toe” 2-day didactic course, highlighting various important topics on imaging of traumatic injuries. Scattered throughout the 4 days were several poster and case of the day presentations, scientific sessions, and self-assessment modules. The following is a summary of the educational posters and scientific papers.     

Highlights from the scientific and educational abstracts presented at the ASER 2015 annual scientific meeting and postgraduate course

The American Society of Emergency Radiology (ASER) 2015 Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course offered dedicated learning sessions, oral presentations, and digital exhibits on a broad spectrum of topics in emergency radiology, including traumatic and non-traumatic emergencies, quality, communication, education, technological innovations, and the evolving identity of the emergency radiology subspecialty. This article highlights the scientific and educational abstracts presented at the meeting.     

Ablation protocols and ancillary procedures in tumor ablation therapy: consensus from Japanese experts

Purpose

A panel of Japanese experts on tumor ablation therapy gathered to reach a general consensus on topics surrounding ablation therapy.

Materials and methods

Questionnaires relating to ablation protocols for radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and cryoablation, as well as ancillary procedures required for safe and secure ablation therapy, were sent to seven institutions. Experts from these institutions discussed each topic based on the evidence and the questionnaire data, and a consensus was reached at an annual meeting of the Japan Image-guided Ablation Group in Maebashi, Japan, in October 2015.

Results

A consensus was reached on each of six topics, including “management of antiplatelet and anticoagulation drug therapy”; “pain control in the perioperative period”; “arterial embolization combined with ablation therapy”; “protection of non-target organs”; “RFA and cryoablation protocols”; and “ablative margins.”

Conclusions

The consensus achieved here will serve as the framework for tumor ablation therapies in Japan.

     

Consensus conference on core radiological parameters to describe lumbar stenosis - an initiative for structured reporting

Purpose

To define radiological criteria and parameters as a minimum standard in a structured radiological report for patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) and to identify criteria and parameters for research purposes.

Material and methods

All available radiological criteria and parameters for LSS were identified using systematic literature reviews and a Delphi survey. We invited to the consensus meeting, and provided data, to 15 internationally renowned experts from different countries. During the meeting, these experts reached consensus in a structured and systematic discussion about a core list of radiological criteria and parameters for standard reporting.

Results

We identified a total of 27 radiological criteria and parameters for LSS. During the meeting, the experts identified five of these as core items for a structured report. For central stenosis, these were “compromise of the central zone” and “relation between fluid and cauda equina”. For lateral stenosis, the group agreed that “nerve root compression in the lateral recess” was a core item. For foraminal stenosis, we included “nerve root impingement” and “compromise of the foraminal zone”.

Conclusion

As a minimum standard, five radiological criteria should be used in a structured radiological report in LSS. Other parameters are well suited for research.

Key Points

? The five most important radiological criteria for standard clinical reporting were selected ? The five most important quantitative radiological parameters for research purposes were selected ? These core criteria could help standardize the communication between health care providers     

Highlights of the 15th annual scientific meeting of the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography

The 15th Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) annual scientific meeting (ASM) welcomed 770 digital attendees from 44 countries, over 2 days, with a program that included 30 sessions across three simultaneously streaming channels, 10 exhibitors and a diverse range of scientific abstracts. In addition, #SCCT2020 generated >5900 tweets from nearly 700 engaged social media participants resulting in an estimated 38 million digital impressions and becoming #1 trending medical meeting in social media in the world during the meeting time period. This article summarizes the many themes and topics of presentation and discussion in this meeting, and the many technical advances that are likely to impact future clinical practice in cardiovascular computed tomography.     

Highlights of the 16th annual scientific meeting of the society of cardiovascular computed tomography

The 16th Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) annual scientific meeting welcomed 781 digital attendees from 55 countries. The program included 27 sessions across three simultaneously streaming channels, 11 exhibitors, 153 poster presentations, and 32 ​hours of on demand videos. The main themes of the meeting included coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, structural heart disease, and advanced analytics including machine learning. This article summaries the main themes of the meeting and some of the key presentations, which will shape the future of cardiovascular computed tomography in clinical practice.     

Back to the Future - Part 2. Post-mortem assessment and evolutionary role of the bio-medicolegal sciences

Part 2 of the review “Back to the Future” is dedicated to the evolutionary role of the bio-medicolegal sciences, reporting the historical profiles, the state of the art, and prospects for future development of the main related techniques and methods of the ancillary disciplines that have risen to the role of “autonomous” sciences, namely, Genetics and Genomics, Toxicology, Radiology, and Imaging, involved in historic synergy in the “post-mortem assessment,” together with the mother discipline Legal Medicine, by way of its primary fundament, universally denominated as Forensic Pathology. The evolution of the scientific research and the increased accuracy of the various disciplines will be oriented towards the elaboration of an “algorithm,” able to weigh the value of “evidence” placed at the disposal of the “justice system” as real truth and proof.

     

Highlights from the scientific and educational abstracts presented at the ASER 2013 Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course

The American Society of Emergency Radiology (ASER) 2013 Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course offered dedicated learning sessions, oral presentations, and digital exhibits on a broad spectrum of topics in emergency radiology, including traumatic and nontraumatic emergencies, quality, communication, education, and technology. This article highlights the scientific and educational abstracts presented at the meeting (Emergc Radiol 20:345–378, 2013).     

Expert scientific evidence in the Israeli court

Most judges, by the very nature of their educational background, are less than sufficiently prepared for the task to fully comprehend the problems in disputes concerning scientific subjects. Judicial cognizance in such matters gives no support. The judge has no recourse but to rely on Expert Evidence. However, such evidence, especially in the adversarial system, requires the ability to evaluate it. Back to square one? Almost. The Israeli court borrowed, and followed for many years, the American solution - the Frye Principle (Frye v. United States, 54 App.D.C. at 47, 293 F. 1013 (1923) 1014) - "the thing from which the deduction is made must be sufficiently established to have gained general acceptance in the particular field in which it belongs " - meaning that an Expert's view is held as true if proven that it had been held by "the scientific community." This solution presented an almost insurmountable problem for novel scientific ideas. The were also exceptions - several Israeli Courts made the rather difficult task of examining the Experts' "working papers", i.e. the "crude" data on which he based his deductions. The model of such effort seems to be the English decision, by Stuart-Smith LJ in Loveday v Renton and Wellcome Foundation Ltd. ( (QBD) 1 Med Law Review, 1990:117). Seventy years after Frye the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed the subject of evaluation of scientific evidence. The new requirements were "... (1) ... whether the theory or technique can be and has been tested; (2) ... whether the theory or technique has been subjected to peer review ... (3) ... the known or potential rate of error of[the] technique; (4) [no requirement of] a particular degree of acceptance of the theory or technique within that [scientific] community, ... and (5) the inquiry is a flexible one, and the focus must be solely on principles and methodology, not on the conclusions that such principles and methodology generate ". Namely - the Judge, guided by intelligence and logic, is sufficiently equipped to evaluate the facts and conclusions presented. On the Israeli scene, the Daubert principles guided a District Court in a highly publicized trial, the judge however was in the minority. Only ten years later the Supreme Court adapted Daubert (Justice M. Cheshin in Cr/A 9724/04 Mourad Abu-Chamed v. The State of Israel Tak-Sup 2003 (3) 2182 (22.10.2003)). Since then various Israeli Courts were guided by these principles in a variety of decisions concerned with scientific and technical problems. In contradistinction to U.S. Courts, the Israeli Judge rules both on admissibility as well as on the veracity of the evidence presented.     

The global social media response to the 14th annual Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography scientific sessions

The 2019 Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) was perhaps the most impactful meeting in recent memory for the field of cardiovascular CT. Beyond just being the highest attended ASM meeting in the society's history, the virtual impact of the meeting extended farther than ever before due to coordinated social media coverage and participation. As a result, the ASM reinforced the fact that the educational paradigm and audience of scientific meetings has changed. Bound through the hashtag #SCCT2019, social media allowed the research, education, networking and trends from this year's ASM to extend beyond the walls of the meeting with a record setting level of digital global reach. Using posts from Twitter as a prism of interests and response of the global cardiovascular CT community, this article presents the topics with the highest social media engagement from the 14th ASM.     

Access to Interventional Radiology Services in Small Hospitals and Rural Communities: An ACR Membership Intercommission Survey

Purpose

To evaluate the status of interventional radiology (IR) staffing, recruitment, and retention in the United States, specifically as they apply to small hospitals and rural communities.

Facing the Guilt and Commemorating the Victims: German Radiology and Radiation Oncology During National Socialism

Whereas the scientific community is aware of atrocities committed by medical doctors like Mengele, the specifics of radiology and radiation oncology during National Socialism remain largely unknown. Starting in 2010, the German Radiology Association and the German Association of Radiation Oncology coordinated a national project looking into original archival material. A national committee convened in 2013 to discuss the project’s findings, which were also the subject of a symposium at the University of Tuebingen in 2016 on radiology under National Socialism. The project identified approximately 160 radiologists who were victimized because of their Jewish descent, among them Gustav Bucky (known for the Bucky factor in x-ray diagnostics). Radiologists throughout Germany took part in forced sterilizations. The “Schutzstaffel,” commonly known as SS, had a special radiology unit that was established for tuberculosis screening. Radiation was also used for sterilization experiments in the Auschwitz concentration camp with subsequent surgical procedures to enable histological analysis of the irradiated tissue. Reflection on medicine during the Holocaust will be strengthened by specific facts related to the respective medical field. Radiologists were involved in atrocious medical experiments as well as in supporting Nazi policies in Germany. These facts provoke ethical considerations about marginalized patient groups and doctor-patient communication. They also raise questions about “evidence-based” medicine as sole justification for medical procedures. In summary, historical studies will be able to help in the professional identity formation of radiologists gaining awareness to ethical issues of today.     

Arbeitstagung „Radioonkologie und Recht”

From 25 to 27 Sept 1997, a workshop was organized at the Essen Medical School (Universitätsklinikum Essen), at which radiooncologists and jurists from universities and courts as well as lawyers contributed their views on mutual problems. The following topics were discussed by papers and in round table meetings: “Requirements on the patient’s information”, “definition of therapeutic guidelines — limits of clinical research and standard treatments”, “treatment documentation”, “liability of the physician for treatment faults” and “technical standard and preserve of quality”. The consensual guidelines to the topics “patient’s information”, “therapeutic guidelines” and “liability” are presented here.     

Impact of Patient-Centered Care on the Patient Experience in Nuclear Medicine

ObjectiveTo quantify the impact of direct patient-physician interaction within a nuclear medicine pretherapy consultation clinic on the patient experience.MethodsPatients were asked to complete a survey before and after meeting with the nuclear medicine physician. During each visit, the physician provided disease-specific information, discussed the planned therapy, answered questions, and provided tip sheets and checklists to prepare the patient for therapy.ResultsThirty-eight patients were included in the analysis. Before consultation, 17 patients (44.7%) were “somewhat” or “extremely” familiar with the term “nuclear medicine doctor,” whereas after the consultation, 33 patients (86.8%) were “somewhat” or “extremely” familiar with the term “nuclear medicine doctor” (P < 0.001). Thirteen patients (37.1%) felt they had either no understanding or a vague understanding of the therapy and no understanding of the plan for follow-up before the consultation, whereas 2 patients (5.4%) chose this response after the consultation (P < 0.001). More patients responded that they felt “generally” or “perfectly calm” toward the therapy overall after their consultation: 26 patients (68.4%) before vs 34 patients (91.9%) after consultation (P < 0.001).DiscussionPatient- and family-centered care in radiology includes direct physician participation in care delivery. In this report, we evaluate and measure the impact of our nuclear medicine pretherapy consultation clinic on the patient experience. We demonstrate significant impact of direct patient-physician encounters on patient anxiety, patient knowledge of the role of the nuclear medicine physician, and overall patient understanding of their treatment plan.     

Highlights from the scientific and educational abstracts presented at the ASER 2012 Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course

The American Society of Emergency Radiology 2012 Annual Scientific Meeting and Post-Graduate Course encompassed a wide range of topics: traumatic and non-traumatic emergencies, radiation dose management, technical innovations and advancements, emergency preparedness, mass casualties, and teleradiology. This article highlights the scientific and educational abstracts presented at the meeting.     

Highlights from the scientific and educational abstracts presented at the ASER 2010 Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course

The American Society of Emergency Radiology 2010 Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course encompassed a wide range of topics: traumatic and non-traumatic emergencies, radiation dose management, technical innovations and advancements, emergency preparedness, mass casualties, military radiology, and teleradiology. This article highlights the scientific and educational abstracts presented at the meeting (Emerg Radiol 17:517-551, 2010).     

Assessment of abstracts submitted to the annual scientific meeting of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists

The process for selecting abstracts submitted for presentation at annual scientific meetings should ensure both the quality of these meetings and fairness to prospective presenters. The aim of the present study was to review the assessment of radiation oncology abstracts submitted for oral presentation to the 2004 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists annual scientific meeting. Selection criteria were developed that were primarily focused on the subjective aspects of abstract quality. All research abstracts were reviewed blindly by five individual reviewers (four radiation oncologists and a statistician), scoring each abstract in five categories. The scores of three reviewers were used to select the top 30 general and top eight trainee entries. For comparison, cluster analysis using the scores of all five reviewers was used to group papers into two ranks. There was a strong correlation in total scores for each paper, between all reviewers. Similarly, the study design subscale was strongly correlated between all reviewers. Abstracts belonging to the first-rank cluster were generally selected. Most trainee entries would have been successful in being accepted into the general programme. The selection process described appears feasible and fair and may improve the quality of meetings.