2020 Call for Abstracts

Deadline for Abstract Submission & Membership Application/Dues Payment:

06 November 2019 at 23:59 EST

The Annual Meeting Program Committee (AMPC) invites abstract submissions for presentation at the ISMRM Annual Meeting 18-23 April 2020 in Sydney, NSW, Australia. Submissions must contain new, previously unpublished material. All abstracts must be submitted electronically via the ISMRM Website.

During the abstract submission process, you will be given the opportunity to select your preferred presentation format. Specifically, abstracts can be submitted for presentation in an oral session or a poster session (full details below). The AMPC will do their best to accommodate your preferences.

PRESENTATION FORMATS

The meeting will include sessions with two formats for oral presentations:

1. Conventional oral. Presenters give 9-minute talks followed by 3 minutes for questions. Most oral sessions include only proffered abstracts, while Combined Educational and Scientific sessions also include invited educational lectures.
2. Power Pitch. Presenters first gather in the Power Pitch Theater to each give a 2-minute oral ‘pitch’ with slides. Presenters then adjourn to an assigned flat panel monitor where they present an electronic poster and participate in discussion.

The meeting also includes poster presentations. For the 2020 Annual Meeting, ALL POSTERS will be presented in a digital format on a large, 43-inch HD monitor. Presenters are assigned to a specific session slot, during which they attend their poster, answer questions and discuss their work. Presenters will submit their poster as a PowerPoint slide or slides which may contain animations, .GIFs and videos. If a presenter prefers a “traditional” poster format, they can submit a single slide or PDF which will remain on the monitor for the duration of the presentation. If a presenter prefers a more presentation-style format, they can submit up to five slides which can be presented as desired. All posters will be available for viewing throughout the week.

Detailed design & presentation guidelines will be available on this website in February after acceptance notices have been emailed.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Rejection of Duplicate Abstracts
Any abstract(s) deemed to duplicate or to contain significant overlap of content will be rejected. Determination of what constitutes duplication, including abstracts submitted in multiple categories or over multiple years, is at the discretion of the ISMRM. Details of identified duplicate submissions will be maintained in our database, and may jeopardize submission of future abstracts by the same individuals or institutions. The electronic submission system facilitates easy identification of duplicate text and data.

No-Shows
All accepted works that are not withdrawn before the 29 February 2020 withdrawal deadline must be presented by the author or their designee. A database is maintained of late cancellations and no-shows, and may jeopardize submission of future abstracts by the same individuals or institutions.

Synopsis
Each abstract is accompanied by a 100-word synopsis for inclusion in the online program. It should include a brief summary of the problem, methods, results, and conclusions. The synopsis must include text only, without equations or images and be without references or citations to items described in the full abstract. The synopsis text should NOT be duplicated in the actual abstract.

Summary of Main Findings
A 250 character summary of the abstract’s main findings is requested for generation of digital poster previews. It is expected that this content will be overlap with the 100-word synopsis. As with the synopsis, summary must include text only, without equations or images and be without references or citations to items described in the full abstract.

New for 2020: Digital Poster Previews
Each digital poster session will have a screen displaying a preview of the 15 presentations in that session. In order to accomplish this, you will be asked for the following:

1. A choice of a secondary figure (in addition to the primary figure already required)
2. A “Summary of Main Findings” (mini-synopsis)
3. An institutional logo image file. If you need to acknowledge more than one institution, you must create a single image containing any necessary logos.

Suggested Abstract Format
We recommend including the following sections, although we also note that there are often good reasons to deviate from this format. In each section, answer the question listed below (do not repeat the actual question in the body of your abstract).

• INTRODUCTION: “Why was this study/research performed? What unsolved problem are you addressing?”
• METHODS: “How did you study this problem?”
• RESULTS: “Report the data, analyses and/or outcomes”
• DISCUSSION: “How do you interpret the results?”
• CONCLUSION: “What is the relevance to clinical practice or future research?”
• REFERENCES: References should use the suggested style below.

Word Limits
The following word limits will apply:

• Title: 125 characters
• Synopsis: 100 words
• Body of the Abstract: 850 words (references not included)
• Summary of Main Findings: 250 Characters (~35 words)
• Up to 5 figures
• Figure Captions: 500 characters per caption

References
Cite each source in numerical order using superscript Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3…).

• Example 1:
  A review of regulations has been complete by the WHO.¹⁵
• Example 2:
  The data were as follows ^3,4:
• Example 3:
  As previously reported, ^11-14,25

At the end of the abstract, list references numerically in the order in which they were cited in the text.

• Example 1:
  1. Rainier S, Thomas D, Tokarz D, et al. Myofibrillogenesis regulator 1 gene mutations cause paroxysmal dystonic choreoathetosis. Arch Neurol. 2004;61(7):1025‐1029.
• Example 2:
  2. World Health Organization. Injury: A Leading Cause of the Global Burden of Disease, 2000. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2002.
• Example 3:
  3. Weiss R. The promise of precision prescriptions. Washington Post. June 24, 2000:A1. http://www.washingtonpost.com. Accessed October 10, 2001.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Abstract Content Guidelines

• The content may not promote the proprietary interests of any commercial entity. Evident bias in favor of a particular product or company is grounds for rejection.
• Content must be restricted to scientific, engineering and clinical studies, as well as, industry issues and operation of devices. Product /company names should be included only to identify the MR hardware/software/ peripherals used, but not to promote proprietary interests (see first bullet point).
• All recommendations involving clinical medicine must be based on evidence that is accepted within the profession of medicine as adequate justification for the recommendations as indications or contraindications in the care of patients.
• All scientific research referred to, reported or used in support or justification of a patient care recommendation must conform to generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection and analysis.
• Abstracts previously submitted to the ISMRM or to another society/journal, but not accepted, may be resubmitted.
• While duplicate material is not permitted, closely related/similar material is acceptable (for example, significant progress on research that was presented at the ISMRM in a previous year).

Abstract Review Criteria

• Innovation/novelty: advancement of knowledge, and/or improvement of capabilities.
• Quality: The results should be substantive and not just implied. Where appropriate:
  • Comprehensive statistical analysis should be applied.
  • Images and spectra should be of the highest quality.
  • All recommendations involving clinical medicine must be based on evidence that is accepted within the profession of medicine as adequate justification for their indications and contraindications in the care of patients.
• Impact: The method or data in the abstract should aim to advance or change the field in significant ways. Incremental changes are less likely to be accepted for presentation.
• Bias: Evident bias in favor of a particular product or company is grounds for rejection. (Reference to the use of a particular company’s products or equipment does not represent bias. Non-data-driven statements of superiority, however, would be considered biased.)
• Duplication of Content. Multiple submissions of the same or nearly the same abstract is grounds for rejection of all submitted abstracts.

Tips for authors

• Start your submission early. You can complete the online forms, compose your abstract and then upload it at any time before the deadline. We recommend that you complete the online forms EARLY, even if your abstract is not yet complete. This will greatly reduce the load on the abstract system, improving speed of access as the deadline approaches.
• Consider your submission category carefully. Abstract reviewers are assigned based on the chosen primary review category. It is therefore critical that you select this category carefully, as reviewers who are not expert in your topic may not be able to assess its quality appropriately. If several categories appear to be relevant to your abstract, it is also worth considering the high-level grouping of categories (corresponding to numbering in hundreds –for example, Neuro or Diffusion). Categories in the same high level grouping are handled by the same Program Committee members, and may be combined when constructing sessions.
• Contact all co-authors prior to submission. It is considered unethical to submit abstracts listing co-authors who have not agreed to the submission. In general, co-authors will expect to read and approve of the content of an abstract, but at a minimum they should be aware of the submission and consented to being listed as an author.

Failure to Present

Submission of an abstract is considered a commitment to present the abstract if it is accepted. Failure to present an abstract may jeopardize future submissions by the same author or institution.

Publication of Abstracts

The Proceedings will be published electronically only. The full text of all accepted abstracts will be available online two weeks before the meeting to pre-registered attendees only (03 April 2020). If you wish to have access to the Proceedings before the meeting, you must pre-register.

All submitted abstracts are treated as confidential from the time of submission to the publication date of 03 April 2020.

All copyrights to accepted abstracts become the property of ISMRM. No proprietary information may be withheld by authors.