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Unsolved Problems and Unmet Needs in
Magnetic Resonance
Call for Abstracts:
Submission Deadline: 9 December 2005
The submission
deadline and procedure for these "unsolved problems" abstracts is separate
from those of the regular ISMRM abstracts. Please note that abstracts
submitted for this course may not also be submitted for presentation in the
regular scientific sessions.
We are pleased to announce a new initiative to be launched at
the 2006 ISMRM meeting in Seattle, to highlight unsolved problems and unmet
needs in magnetic resonance. Online submissions on important problems and
needs will be solicited, and approximately ten of these submissions will be
selected for presentation over the course of four mornings. The
submission deadline and procedure for these “unsolved problems” abstracts
will be separate from those of regular ISMRM abstracts.
Background:
The field of magnetic
resonance is increasingly rich and diverse, spanning far too many areas of
clinical and research activity for any one person or group to track
effectively. At the annual ISMRM meeting and in many of our professional
interactions, we tend to focus on what we or others have recently
accomplished in our areas of interest, or else we speculate together on
current trends and promising future directions in MR research and practice.
In the midst of all this lively and topical activity, the less satisfying
questions of what we cannot but would very much like to achieve with
MR receive little concentrated, collective attention. Discussions of unmet
needs and research priorities are often left to funding organizations, which
publish periodic “requests for proposals” and “roadmaps” to which many of us
as researchers are encouraged to respond. The process of assessing needs
and formulating priorities, however, could very well benefit from broader
participation by our MR community at large. Collective brainstorming about
unsolved problems and unmet needs would have the added benefit of promoting
interactions between the disparate members of our community, and it might
also serve to stimulate innovative solutions.
Objectives: For all of these reasons, this new series of morning sessions
is planned with the goal of bringing together those with detailed knowledge
of important needs (“If only I had X, then I could diagnose / monitor /
treat Y”) and those who seek to characterize and extend the limits of MR
capabilities (“If only I could measure / build / control Z, then I could
accomplish X”). The morning sessions will emphasize open discussion, in
order to promote interactions and to foster innovation. Since unsolved
problems may often be controversial, the sessions will also be an
opportunity for lively and reasoned debate. In order to continue the
discussion after the meeting, results from the morning sessions and from the
abstract solicitation will be posted on the ISMRM Website, and an online
list of unsolved problems and unmet needs will be maintained and updated
thereafter, serving both as a resource for new entrants into the field and
as an ongoing challenge for established investigators.
Target audience:
All members of the MR
community, including both clinicians and basic scientists, both established
investigators and students or young investigators, are encouraged to submit
abstracts and attend the oral sessions. The sessions are expected to be of
particular value for students who may be looking for research problems of
importance. They are also targeted at clinicians and researchers interested
in potential collaborations on high-impact problems.
Morning
Session Plan: The top-rated abstracts (see review procedure
to follow) will be selected for 15-minute oral presentations,
according to the oral presentations, according to the following
tentative schedule:
Day 1 (Tuesday): Introduction to the initiative followed by 2
presentations and discussion
Day 2 (Wednesday): 3 presentations and discussion
Day 3 (Thursday): 3 presentations and discussion
Day 4 (Friday): 2 presentations and discussion followed by a
summary of topics covered and a description of plans for the
ongoing Web list of problems/needs. |
Guidelines and online submission and
review:
Submission of an abstract represents a good way to bring attention to an
area of particular interest to you.
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Abstracts should be no longer than one
page, in single column format, with images optional.
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Abstract
should include a
100-word summary with a clear statement of the problem or need.
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Remaining
text may include a statement of background and significance (current
limitations of MR technology or methodology, importance of the clinical or
research problem to be answered, etc.), an accounting of existing
alternative approaches, if any, and possibly criteria for a successful
solution.
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Topics may include specific technical challenges (e.g. “Detect a
single labeled molecule in vivo using MR”), clinical targets (e.g. “Diagnose
X definitively using MR”), or even current controversies (e.g. “Establish
the definitive physiologic or biochemical mechanism underlying Y”).
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Given the differences in
content and review criteria from traditional ISMRM abstracts, the “unsolved
problems” abstracts will be submitted and reviewed separately from regular
ISMRM Scientific Meeting submissions. This is a separate program from the
regular ISMRM scientific abstract submission, and you should NOT use the
regular abstract submission website.
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If you wish
to submit an abstract for consideration for this course,
please send a two-page document in
rtf. or .doc format (A4 or 8.5 x 11, with font 10pt or higher)
containing the following: |
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First page: Author information, including first
and last name, mailing address, telephone, and
e-mail address.
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Second page: One-page abstract containing the
title, authors, affiliations, and the abstract, following
the guidelines above.
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E-mail this
two-page document document to
Unsolved_Problems@ismrm.org |
Despite these differences
from the traditional abstract submission process, every effort will be made
to ensure impartiality of the review process for this new program. Each
abstract will be refereed by at least 3 referees, one or more of whom will
be a member of the Annual Meeting Program Committee. A scoring system
similar to that used for construction of other oral scientific sessions will
be employed.
Please note that
abstracts submitted for this course
may not also be submitted for
presentation in the regular scientific sessions.
We welcome your participation in this new program, and look
forward to lively discussions in Seattle and beyond.
Daniel K. Sodickson
Organizer
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