As the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) continues to champion the limitless potential of interventional radiology, the SIR Annual Scientific Meeting, April 2–7 in Vancouver, British Columbia., Canada, showcases innovations in patient care through evidence-based medicine.

Each year, SIR welcomes thousands of attendees to its annual scientific meeting—a highly anticipated global gathering—that showcases cutting-edge research on the latest advances and evolutions in image-guided therapies to enhance patient care. The goal of the meeting is to improve the quality of patient care by enhancing the knowledge, skills, professional performance and multidisciplinary relationships that interventional radiologists and other learners need. The meeting also provides attendees with a wealth of opportunities to network with peers from around the world.

“The SIR Annual Scientific Meeting is the place where those on the front lines of this innovative field present powerful new research in image-guided therapies and breakthrough treatments that improve the standard of patient care,” said Brian Funaki, M.D., FSIR, SIR 2016’s scientific program chair. “SIR 2016 will feature more than 200 session coordinators from 13 different countries. In the scientific sessions, attendees will learn about current clinical trials, technical innovations and the basic science that shapes the foundation of the specialty,” added Funaki, professor of radiology and section chief, vascular and interventional radiology for the University of Chicago-School of Medicine.

Scientific abstracts are currently being accepted; the deadline to submit is October 6. Registration for SIR 2016 opens on October 1. Be sure to visit SIR or SIR 2016 for more information.

SIR 2016 Meeting Overview

The meeting provides IR physicians, and those in related positions, with tools needed to elevate patient care and work toward the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the dozens of disease areas that interventional radiology treatments touch.

The 2016 program is comprised of 250-plus hours of programming in various learning formats, such as case-based workshops, scientific sessions, symposia, expert panels, skill-refining hands-on workshops and oral and poster presentations. SIR 2016 will feature 37 “Meet the Experts” sessions featuring the top visionaries of the field.

Attendees have the opportunity to earn 31.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. SIR continues to expand its self-assessment module (SAM) program, and SIR 2016 will contain 18 SAM sessions and be approved for 27 SAM credits.

The schedule offers more than 200 sessions across 16 educational pathways and venous practitioners will reap the benefits of SIR’s focus on current treatments and future trends in image-guided vein treatments. The continued growth in abstract submissions from around the globe ensures a wealth of discourse on the diagnosis, pathology and management of venous disease.

Some of this year’s dedicated venous programming includes:

• Seminars on acute and chronic deep vein thrombosis
• Skills workshops on the management of occlusive disease and venous insufficiency
• Advanced vascular access techniques
• Recent research on pulmonary thrombolysis
• Hands-on experience using the latest technologies for diagnosis, triage and intervention in massive and sub-massive pulmonary embolism

In addition to the most current clinical research, there will also be discussions surrounding the social, political and economic issues that are important to the IR community.

Essential to the annual meeting, the SIR 2016 plenary sessions feature the specialty’s top thought-leaders on issues that are central to the specialty’s growth and survival in today’s fast-paced health care landscape. The 2016 plenary topics include:

• Innovation Panel (includes the presentation of the SIR Gold Medals)
• IR Olympia (the popular Film Panel, which also includes the presentation the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology Editor’s Best and the SIR Foundation Awards)
• Consolidation Panel (includes the annual Dr. Charles T. Dotter Lecture)
• Debates: IR making a name for itself (includes the SIR Abstract of the Year presentation)

The April 2 symposia kicks off the SIR 2016 meeting. This half-day learning experience format provides immersion into important topics. For 2016, one symposium will combine “Extreme IR” and “Morbidity and Mortality.” The “Engineers and Engineering” and “IR and Young faculty” development courses will occur concurrently.

In the comprehensive case-based review session, IR Domain, experts cover the key overlapping domains of interventional radiology: imaging, interventions (arterial, venous, nonvascular) and clinical care. As this session is interactive in nature, participants will answer a series of case-related questions via audience response technology and earn SAM credits toward the American Board of Radiology (ABR) Maintenance of Certification (MOC).

Expo and the 2016 Mobile App

The Expo, the meeting’s exhibit hall, will host:

• Hands-on learning labs: SIR faculty-led learning sessions with hands-on product demonstrations
• Eat and be educated sessions: Educational sessions led by SIR leaders from an exhibitor’s booth or suite
• Hands-on exhibitor designation: An interactive training and learning opportunity directly from an exhibitor’s booth

The SIR 2016 mobile app will be available in all app stores and online starting February 2016. Attendees will be able to upload their web-created personal planner, access the Expo and Vancouver Convention Centre floor plans and visit the New Product Showcase™ directly from the app. The app also allows attendees to receive up-to-the-minute alerts, share photos and post directly to social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

Set your sights on Vancouver

Vancouver, one of the world’s most diverse and cosmopolitan cities, offers outstanding opportunities for outdoor adventures along with the sophisticated amenities of a world-class city. It is one of the few places in the world where it’s possible to ski in the morning and golf in the afternoon. SIR 2016’s location, the Vancouver Convention Centre, has a six-acre ”living roof” that houses thousands of indigenous plants and recovers rainwater for irrigation, a fish habitat built into its foundations and a waterfront promenade.