OCTOBER 2013 • Vol. 2, Issue 4

A Message from the SMRT President

We are at the time of the year where the preliminary work has been done for our next Annual Meeting in Milan and we are now fine tuning and working to make the best of our opportunities to reach out to our international community and make this meeting the success it promises to be. This meeting will be in a joint collaboration with the European Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ESMRMB) who have started developing their own Technologist /Radiographer dedicated sessions over the last couple of years. The 2014 meeting is a great opportunity for the European colleagues to join and participate locally with the international community.

Rhonda Walcarius and her Program Committee have done a wonderful job finalizing the SMRT weekend program for Milan. Jim Stuppino has finalized the Annual ISMRM/SMRT Joint forum on PET/MRI which also promises to attract a great attendance to learn about this newly evolving hybrid technology. The forum is on Monday afternoon after the weekend meeting and is included in your SMRT Annual Meeting registration. Both of these programs will feature world class speakers in their field of expertise and this is a great opportunity to come and participate with your international colleagues.

If you are doing some interesting clinical or research work, please be sure to submit an abstract of your work for consideration. There are prizes for both clinical and research focused papers and opportunities to submit posters as well. Our web site link: http://www.ismrm.org/smrt/about/mentorship-program/how-to-write-an-abstract/ will guide you through. Your submissions and participation in this meeting will heavily influence the success of the SMRT Annual Meeting. If you have any questions regarding abstract submissions, please contact our Education Committee Chair, Sheryl Foster, who will be happy to help you get on your way.

On the Saturday night after the first day of our weekend meeting program, we will hold the poster awards presentations, followed by a social reception for all registered attendees. This will provide a chance to speak with all poster submitting colleagues and provide networking opportunities on an international scale. Be sure to include this evening in your schedule.

Be sure to check out our latest online Home Study update on Metal and MR imaging. Anne Sawyer, Home Study Editor and Vanessa Orchard, Publications Chair have been working hard to keep the high standard of professional developmental material coming to enable a high level of MRI specific continuing education. Our online video capabilities have recently been boosted with the introduction of a new interface allowing us to watch lectures and take a quiz immediately afterwards to allow fast access to CE credit points. In getting this new feature ready, our last annual meeting from Salt Lake City is now online for viewing. Anne Sawyer’s efforts in writing quiz questions for our latest online content is remarkable and her continuous passion in her contributions to the SMRT are invaluable and well recognised. Please have a look at the New SMRT Online Education system where you can navigate around the new format and organisation of our online content. This effort has been a positive step in the comprehensive direction we are endeavouring in a one stop shop for fast online MRI educational credit.

There is also another great opportunity to search through the endless online content we have available to all members. The library of content from previous annual meetings of both the SMRT and the ISMRM are the most comprehensive available globally so make the most of it.

Once again, I would like to send a reminder to all and request that you “like” our Facebook page and help us keep evolving in the world of social media. We are almost at the 700 likes mark and still growing in the many ways to reach our membership. Keep letting us know your ideas for future SMRT activity and ways we can better serve you, our members and supporters.