RSNA Board of Directors Report
The RSNA Board of Directors met in June to approve the Society’s 2017-2018 budget and to continue planning for the annual meeting and many other ongoing activities
RSNA 2017: Explore. Invent. Transform.
The 103rd Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting program will be dedicated to the memory of Richard L. Baron, MD, RSNA past president. In recognition of his significant contributions to radiology, the Board also decided to award Dr. Baron a posthumous Gold Medal at the meeting. The Annual Oration in Diagnostic Radiology will be dedicated to Morton A. Bosniak, MD, and the New Horizons Lecture will be presented in memory of Sir Peter Mansfield, PhD.
A number of new features are planned for 2017, including a Fast 5 session that will precede the Thursday afternoon plenary session. In this fast-paced, engaging presentation, five speakers will be identified through crowd-sourcing to speak for five minutes each on topics related to the meeting theme: Explore. Invent. Transform.
A new cybersecurity session will be developed by the Medical Imaging & Technical Alliance (MITA) with speakers from MITA and the FDA.
3-D Printing SIG
The Board approved the 2017-2018 Plan of Work for the recently formed 3-D Printing Special Interest Group (SIG). The plan outlines goals for the group, including publication of a set of recommendations for creating 3-D printed models from medical images.
2018 Planning
RSNA continues to broaden its educational offerings with a new Spotlight Course planned for 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Course directors Jorge Soto, MD, of Boston and Mariano Volpacchio, MD, of Buenos Aires will develop the 2 ½ day course addressing topics in abdominal imaging. The course will be conducted in Spanish, and registration will open early in 2018.
Australia and the Nordic countries will be featured in the Country Presents program at RSNA 2018. The program allows selected countries to showcase a particular area of interest in medical imaging research and education in each country.
The RSNA/European Society of Radiology Symposium series continues with the RSNA/ESR Sports Imaging Symposium to be held at ECR 2018 and RSNA 2018. Course directors Laura W. Bancroft, MD, and Andrew J. Grainger, MRCP, FRCR, will develop the symposium.
Education Center Adds Webinars
RSNA is developing new webinars to be held in 2018, covering a variety of clinical and non-interpretive topics. Each one-hour webinar will be eligible for CME credit.
Imaging Informatics Curriculum
The Board approved RSNA support for implementation of a national imaging informatics curriculum and course developed by Tessa Cook, MD, PhD, Nabile Safdar, MD, Katherine Andriole, PhD, and Michael Recht, MD, with grant funding from the Association of University Radiologists (AUR). The Society for Imaging and Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) has agreed to share costs. The course is geared toward fourth-year residents and will run as a week-long online course, which will be offered twice per year and will conclude with an exam. The first course will be held in October 2017, and will run on a trial basis for three years.
Streamlining the Annual Meeting Program
A workgroup was appointed by the Board to recommend modifications to optimize the educational components of the annual meeting. Among other things, the group will consider reducing duplication across various courses offered at the meeting, alternative ways to structure education course tracks, and the frequency and length of courses.
The charge also includes discussion of potential new course formats and strategies to label the difficulty of educational courses.
Support for NIBIB Panel on Gadolinium Deposition
RSNA agreed to provide support for an invitational workshop on gadolinium-based contrast agents for MRI, being convened by the NIBIB this fall.
An objective of the conference will be to reach a consensus and produce a white paper on what is known and not yet known about gadolinium deposition.
QIBA Conformance Certification Pilot Program
The Board authorized a Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers Alliance (QIBA) collaboration with Accumetra to pilot a conformance certification program focusing on QIBA’s CT Small Nodule Volumetry Profile. The pilot establishes a program to test and validate CT scanner and acquisition protocols for clinical sites and equipment manufacturers.
I look forward to seeing you soon at RSNA 2017.