Message from Scientific Program Committee
On behalf of the Scientific Program Committee, I invite you to join us at our 11th ISMRM Scientific Meeting and Exhibition
to be held in July 2003 in Toronto, Canada.
The ISMRM is a thriving multi-disciplinary society with a membership of nearly 5,000 dedicated to the development and
application of magnetic resonance technologies in medicine. Our meeting this year will build on the successful frameworks
of previous meetings in Denver, Glasgow, and Honolulu, and it benefits from being held in the heart of the cosmopolitan
and friendly city of Toronto.
This year the SPC has worked hard to put together a balanced and attractive program that addresses the needs of the
membership with broad coverage of developmental magnetic resonance and clinical applications. The extensive program
provides a balance between opportunities for education and presentation of the latest developments in magnetic resonance
technology and applications.
The education sessions during the scientific program include expanded and refreshed morning and clinical categorical
courses and a topical forum with the SMRT. Up to 50 CME credits will be available across the program. The sessions during
the week are designed to cover the breadth of cutting edge research topics and real-world clinical applications and to
complement the highly successful weekend teaching programs that provide both basic and advanced teaching across a wide
range of topics. The ISMRM is fortunate to have within the membership so many expert scientists and clinicians with teaching
skills to whom the SPC is grateful.
The scientific component includes the plenary talks, poster and scientific sessions, as well as both clinical and basic science
focus sessions. There will be the usual comprehensive coverage of all areas of scientific endeavor in magnetic resonance
and a focus on key areas including safety, the future challenges for MR posed by chronic disease, the renaissance in RF
developments such as parallel imaging technologies, the importance of understanding tumors and their environments at a
cellular level, and the substantial progress made in MR techniques applied to cardiovascular disease.
The Toronto meeting will also provide an opportunity for the Society to expand its use of electronic technologies, and we hope
you will enjoy and benefit from these. The ISMRM staff is working hard behind the scenes, and we should like to thank them
for their tremendous expertise in the planning and operation of the meeting.
Our objectives in this program are to provide you with the best forum for magnetic resonance scientific education and learning
combined with the opportunity for productive scientific interchange and debate at the highest level. We look forward to your
contributions and invite you to join us and enjoy the meeting in Toronto.
David J. Lomas, M.B., B.Chir., F.R.C.R.
Chair, Scientific Program Committee
