Report of Euroson 2006

 

This year the EUROSON Congress of Ultrasound was a great success. The 18th gathering of this prestigious event took place in Italy, hosted by the charming old city Bologna, which is famous for its unique architecture, history and exquisite food.

Bologna was able to offer interesting sightseeing tours, and boasts the longest portico in the world, starting from Piazza degli Aragonesi to the church dedicated to St. Luca who was the patron saint of the Medici family. From the church you can enjoy a view of Bologna, which is particularly enchanting at night. However, Bologna is also a modern city, well known for its precious contribution to the development of ultrasound scanning techniques.

The EUROSON Congress has for years attracted the attention of the whole world. Five continents were thus represented this year by 1700 participants coming from 38 countries of which 11were non-European: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States. This is a remarkable score considering that EUROSON is after all a strictly European congress organized by the European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology.

Continuing medical education played as always an important role in this gathering, which offered a series of courses, lectures, round tables, clinical sonografic workshops, bookmarks in ultrasound, sessions of oral communications and satellite symposia divided among different medical specialities. We had the opportunity to listen to numerous ultrasound experts who were willing to let us in on their knowledge and new discoveries. They were all very well prepared and the participants have all praised the high quality of the lectures.

In the medical profession regular updating of knowledge is a must and continuing education keeps us going, but it is just as important to be acquainted with the most recent results of scientific research. Also this time the EUROSON Congress could offer a variety of scientific news presented in 257 abstracts, 143 oral communications and 81 posters dealing with different specialities, such as gastroenterology, obstetrics-gynaecology, musculoskeletal, breast, nephro-urology and male reproductive system, interventional, physics-basic-technology, contrast agents, general and vascular Doppler, paediatrics, etc.

The congress presented also an excellent opportunity to gather information about the latest technological developments and innovations in the field of ultrasound equipment and accessories, as there were numerous stands hosting the most important manufacturers. In addition to this, also various publishing houses were represented displaying the newest literature on the subject.

Several awards were distributed during the Congress to encourage particularly young scientists to continue their struggle towards scientific progress. The EUROSON "Young Investigators" Award was thus won by a young scientist from Rotterdam, while a SIUMB committee assigned awards to five excellent oral presentations and three highly illustrative posters. This year also two additional awards for the East/West European Scientific Cooperation were assigned to the best abstracts presented by authors from countries formerly belonging to the Soviet Union.

The traditional Gala Dinner was held at the Isolani Palace and was attended by about 250 guests. This splendid palace lies in the centre of Bologna overlooking Piazza Santo Stefano. It was built in the 15th century and since 1671 it has been in the hands of the Isolani family. The original structure of the palace has been preserved with nine lavishly frescoed rooms and the old cellar rooms, whose refined atmosphere now hosts important cultural events.

This year's congress offered a splendid concert for organ and choir held in the old basilica "Santa Maria dei Servi". This basilica was built by the Servants of Mary in the 14th to 16th centuries, designed by Andrea da Faenza, the Prior General of the order. It boasts a beautiful quadriportico and contains numerous precious works of art, including Cimabue's Madonna and Child.

This year's Congress was possible thanks to the continuous commitment of numerous people. The organizing and scientific committees and consultants had worked very hard for the success of the meeting and we are all much obliged to them for their experience and efforts. The meeting is over now and we have all gone back to normality - to our usual professional and private lives, hopefully wiser than we were before attending the Congress. I hope that you will all have fond memories of our meeting and that you are already looking forward to attending future congresses contributing to them with scientific breakthroughs or just with your presence and personal wish to learn more about ultrasound evolution.