2. The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting, which
took place Nov. 25-30 in Chicago, is one of the premier forums for
learning from other professionals in the field of medical imaging.
3. Final registration numbers
for RSNA 2012 showed a
total of nearly 53,000 people
attended the event, including
26,000 radiology
professionals.
Attendance dropped 9%
from 2011.
4. This year’s theme was
“Patients First”, and
underscored the importance
of patient-centered care.
“It’s easy to forget that the
body parts we are studying
are attached to a human
who may be demoralized by
loss of control in an
assembly line radiology
department," RSNA
president George S. Bisset,
III, MD, said in an interview
with Health Imaging.
5. More than 600 technical exhibits were on display at the meeting. The exhibits
occupied 445,800 square feet of space across three showroom floors. It wasn’t just
scanners and PACS, either. Health Imaging guest blogger Jonathan Flug, MD,
found a developer who built a mobile game hoping to capture the fun of apps like
Angry Birds or old Nintendo games and turn it into an educational tool for
radiologists.
6. One of the more unique sessions at RSNA was a mock jury trial that allowed
attendees to see how a hypothetical malpractice case involving radiation exposure
and cancer might play out in court. “The message to radiologists is that they have
moral and possibly a legal duty to pick up the phone and discuss options with the
referring physician if they are aware of ionizing radiation exam that is of
questionable indication, particularly in young person or is a repeat exam,” said
Leonard Berlin, MD, of NorthShore University Health System in Chicago.
7. More than 3,100 scientific presentations and posters were presented at the
meeting, covering 16 subspecialties including breast imaging, cardiac, informatics,
nuclear medicine, pediatrics, interventional and more. A number of the courses were
available to stream online through RSNA’s Virtual Meeting page. Health Imaging
guest blogger Allison Tillack, PhD, wrote about two poster exhibits she felt
particularly embodied the theme of “Patients First.”
8. As the meeting closed, attendees turned their attention back to their home
practices. “I’m going to bring back to my practice the issues of screening breast
ultrasound, the pros and cons,” said Martha Mainiero, MD, a radiologist at Rhode
Island Hospital in Providence. “It seems there’s a trend for more and more practices
to be adopting screening breast ultrasound.”
9. Chicago will once again host the RSNA annual meeting in 2013. The theme of next
year’s meeting will be “The Power of Partnership” and will take place back at
McCormick Place Convention Center on December 1-6. Paul Chang, MD, provided
a preview and detailed how imaging informatics might resurrect the doctor’s doctor
in his keynote lecture.
Editor's Notes
The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting, which took place Nov. 25-30 in Chicago, is one of the premier forums for learning from other professionals in the field of medical imaging.