The Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) is preparing to roll out the red carpet and put the limitless potential of interventional radiology in the spotlight at the SIR Annual Scientific Meeting in Los Angeles, March 17–22, 2018. Cutting-edge research, clinical trials, devices and technology in minimally invasive patient care will take a starring role in the world’s most comprehensive IR education experience.

SIR 2018—the only venue offering IR education designed specifically for clinical associates—is designed to meet the educational needs of practicing interventional radiologists, IRs in training, diagnostic radiologists and other physicians with a special interest in IR. The meeting also offers a supportive and highly interactive introduction to IR for medical students who may be considering the specialty as their focus.

Early bird registration for SIR 2018 is underway and closes on Jan. 12. For more information visit sirmeeting.org.

Meeting Overview

SIR 2018 will have dedicated education for every career stage. There will be many opportunities to learn from the most respected names in IR and to create and reinforce connections with colleagues around the world who offer unique perspectives on this rapidly changing specialty.

SIR continues to discover new and exciting ways to incorporate interactive learning, and the society has redoubled efforts to expand the diversity of viewpoints, practice environments and international experience of our faculty.

With SIR’s time-tested, comprehensive curriculum, it’s easy to build a schedule that meets your needs and interests. The 2018 program will feature a variety of interactive session formats to enable attendees to choose to learn in different ways. The assortment of session formats will include 13 clinical pathways, case-based settings, hands-on workshops, self-assessment models (SAMs) and Q&A.

Attendees have the opportunity to earn 33.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. SIR 2018 will contain 22 SAM sessions and be approved for 37.5 SAM credits.

Photo Credit: EPNAC.com

The meeting will include programming dedicated to hot topics and various areas of interest within the specialty, including a deep dive into the impact big data can have on a practice, dedicated symposia on private practice and the business of IR, and increased interactivity in hands-on workshops and technology demonstrations.

These are just a few things attendees can expect to see at SIR 2018:

• Expert discussion on current treatments, needs and future trends of minimally invasive vein treatments
• Abstracts from around the world on the diagnosis, pathology and management of venous disease
• The latest technologies for diagnosis, triage and intervention in massive and sub-massive pulmonary embolism
• Seminars on acute and chronic DVT
• Skills workshops on the management of occlusive disease and venous insufficiency

One of the exciting new sessions at SIR 2018 will be an emergency response course focused on mobilizing for catastrophic events and will feature how to mobilize large numbers of IR staff to react to unexpected crises, natural disaster recovery and IR’s role on trauma teams. Returning pillars of the annual scientific meeting will include: The Stroke Course, the Registered Physician in Vascular Interpretation (RPVI) Exam Prep Course, IR Domain: The Essentials, and more.

The Expo

At the Expo’s exhibit hall attendees will find a host of ways to augment the lessons learned in formal sessions, while also refueling with “energy breaks” between sessions.

The Expo includes:

• Hands-On Workshops (HOW): Physician-moderated sessions where attendees break into small groups and rotate through hands-on product training with SIR’s corporate partners
• Advanced Procedural Technique Lab (APT): Faculty-driven, procedure-specific technical training
• Eat and Be Educated Symposia: In-booth educational sessions featuring expert-led discussions
• Corporate Theater: Corporate symposia led by IR faculty

Stay Up-To-Date, On-The-Go

With so many must-see sessions, attendees will want to download the SIR 2018 mobile app from the app store to plan their time at the meeting, access the Expo and Los Angeles Convention Center floor plans and visit the New Product Showcase™. The app, which will be available in late January, provides up-to-the-minute alerts so attendees never miss a session. It also allows attendees to share their #SIR18LA experience by posting directly from the app to social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The app also includes direct feeds from all of SIR’s social media accounts.

Picture Yourself in LA

Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world, has more museums and theaters than any other city in the U.S. and some of the best weather you’ll find year-round. It is also home to some of the world’s most iconic attractions, including the Hollywood Sign, Griffith Observatory, the Getty Center and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Los Angeles Convention Center, the site of SIR 2018, also served as the headquarters for 8,000 journalists covering the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Connect with SIR on Social Media

Keep up with everything happening at SIR 2018. Follow @SIRspecialists on Twitter and Instagram and like Society of Interventional Radiology on Facebook. Use these hashtags to chat or search meeting-related details:

• #SIR18LA: Conversations and news about the SIR 2018 Annual Scientific Meeting
• #Irad: Interventional radiology
• #VisionToHeal: News about interventional radiologists and IR treatments
• #SIRF: News from SIR Foundation
• #JVIR: News from the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology
• #Agile
• #Collaborative
• #Confident
• #Innovative
• #PatientCentered

Brian Funaki, MD, FSIR, is the program chair of the 2018 Annual Scientific Meeting, professor of radiology and section chief of vascular and interventional radiology at the University of Chicago School of Medicine. He is planning this year’s event in Los Angeles alongside the annual meeting committee members Daniel Sze, MD, PhD, FSIR, 2018 workshop chair; Constantino “Tino” Peña, MD, FSIR, 2018 scientific chair; Robert Lewandowski, MD, FSIR, 2017 annual meeting chair; and Constantinos “Costi” Sofocleous, MD, PhD, FSIR, international liaison to the Annual Meeting Committee.