MAY 2013 • Vol. 2, Issue 2

Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City Provides an International Learning Experience

G. Barry Southers, M.Ed., R.T.(R)(MR)
2013 Chair, Program Committee

 “No matter the distance, we are all part of a large MR family and hope the SMRT Annual Meeting serves as a place to meet with old friends and make new ones.”

On behalf of the 2013 SMRT Program Committee, I want to thank everyone across the globe who attended the 22nd Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. We sincerely hope you enjoyed our exciting array of speakers on both days, as well as our fantastic group of experts in our ISMRM-SMRT Joint Forum.

Speaking of "across the globe," this year's meeting welcomed 248 attendees from 24 countries; Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Korea, Scotland, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Uruguay, and the USA. No matter the distance, we are all part of a large MR family, and hope the SMRT Annual Meeting serves as a place to meet with old friends and make new ones. This year, we heard lectures on topics from the history of MR from one of the pioneers of our field, Dr. Paul Bottomley, to ultra-short TE imaging, liver elastography, enterography, and even stepped outside the box with a great lecture on "Companion animal imaging" from current SMRT Policy Board member, James Stuppino. The SMRT Annual Meeting is truly a unique, dynamic, global educational event, and we are proud to bring speakers with knowledge, experience, creativity, and passion for MR. I would like to thank all of our SMRT Meeting Sponsors as well as the ISMRM Corporate Members for their continued support of the SMRT Annual Meeting and MR education for technologists.

Thank you once again for your much appreciated attendance, and if you were not one of the lucky ones present for the 2013 meeting, we welcome you to the beautiful Italian city of Milan in May 2014 for the 23rd Annual Meeting of the SMRT. We promise to work as hard as ever to bring you another wonderful event.
 

The didactic sessions began with the History & Future of MR, moderated by Anne Marie Sawyer, B.S., R.T. (R)(MR), FSMRT (left) with Paul Arthur Bottomley, Ph.D, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. who shared the history of MR in Localized Origins and Vivian S. Lee, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA,  who presented MRI: From Science to Society.   
Wendy Strugnell, B.App.Sc. (MIT), FSMRT, The Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, shared her imaging expertise with Cardiac MR: Getting the Numbers Right

Debiao Li, Ph.D., Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, USA, (left) showed how to perform Non-contrast CMR and James C. Carr, M.D., Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA, illustrated the usefulness of MRI Cardiac Perfusion.
Stroke in the Pediatric Environment was offered by Michael Kean, R.T., FSMRT, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Abdominal imaging was addressed with MRI Assessment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease by Shreyas Vasanawala, M.D., Ph.D., Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
Always a topic of interest, RF Coil & MR Hardware was covered by Robert V. Mulkern, Jr., Ph.D., The Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Brian A. Hargreaves, Ph.D., Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA gave practical information in Reduction of Metal Artifacts.
Keeping the audience attentive, even at the end of the day, is no problem for William Faulkner, B.S., R.T. (R)(MR)(CT), FSMRT, William Faulkner & Associates, LLC, Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA, who spoke on MR Protocol Optimization.

Beginning the second didactic day was Lynne S. Steinbach, M.D., University of California, San Francisco, California, USA, who provided Post-Operative Imaging of the Rotator Cuff.
William B. Morrison, M.D., Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, enlightened the attendees with his Optimization of Musculoskeletal MRI.

The Whole Body MR Forum began with MR Elastography Abdomen/Liver by Scott B. Reeder, M.D., Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Kristan Harrington, M.B.A., R.T. (R)(MR,  Emory University School of Medicine, Alpharetta, Georgia, USA, gave the Technologist perspective of MR Enterography.

Whole Body DWI by Winfried A. Willinek, M.D., University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany, presented new information to many attendees.
Clinical Use of Breast MRI was a practical lesson from Christiane K. Kuhl, M.D., Ph.D., University Aachen, RWTH, Aachen, Germany.

Ever enthusiastic, Carolyn Kaut Roth, R.T. (R)(MR)(CT)(M)(CV), FSMRT, Imaging Education Associates, LLC, West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA, asked: MR Mammography: How Do They Do It?
A unique use of MR for Companion Animal Imaging was shown by James J. Stuppino, B.S., R.T. (R)(MR), AnimalScan, LLC, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA.

Emily McWalter, Ph.D., M.A.Sc., Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA, provided insight into UTE Imaging.
In Vivo Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy to Characterize Changes in the Brain Chemistry Associated with Altitude by Perry F. Renshaw, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, was an apt topic for the attendees sitting many feet above sea level.

Holding the attention of the audience through the end of the program was not an issue for Richard L. Ehman, M.D., Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA, who presented the timely: Perception in Medical Imaging.  
The SMRT appreciates the service of outgoing Policy Board Members: Left to Right, G. Barry Southers, M.Ed., R.T.(R)(MR; Mercedes Pereyra, MBA, B.S., R.T. (R)(CT)(MR); and Glenn Cahoon, B.App.Sc., Dip.Ed., MApp.Sc. Not pictured, John Totman, Ph.D.

ISMRM/SMRT Joint Forum speakers, left to right: Greg Brown, Emanuel Kanal, Anne Marie Sawyer, William Faulkner, Frank Shellock, Glenn Cahoon, Derek Jones and Donald McRobbie.