The ISMRM Global Outreach Workshop in Thailand was held 14-15 May 2012 in Bangkok. It was very well received by the Thai’s medical and scientific research communities with over 200 participants; 35% of which were MDs, 50% were technologists and 10% were engineers and scientists. The generous support from the ISMRM outreach program enables these participants to learn more about magnetic resonance and discuss about the future of MR research in Thailand. Additional to the support that was received from the ISMRM, GE Healthcare, Philips Medical Systems, and Siemens Medical Solutions through the outreach program, we also received sponsorship from nine other local and international institutes and companies. The workshop has really drummed up quite a bit of interest in MR research in Thailand and paved ways for a substantive collaboration among professions in medical and scientific communities.

Through the ISMRM community, we invited many distinguished speakers to the event to discuss MR fundamentals, current research and its clinical applications.  The educational talks were divided up into the following sessions: 1) basic MR, 2) MR Hardware, 3) MRS, 4) Cardiac imaging, and 5) Neuro-imaging. The first two sessions were designed to provide a good foundation in MR fundamentals, upon which the topics in the following three sessions were built. These talks were given by excellent speakers including Dr. John Port from Mayo Clinic; Dr. Bruce Pike from McGill University; Dr. Bruce Rosen, Lawrence Wald, and Jonathan Polimeni from A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical imaging; Dr. Debiao Li from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; Dr. Napapon Sailasuta from University of Southern California; Dr. Serena Spudich from Yale School of Medicine; Dr. Victor Valcour from UCSF; and Maja Cassidy from Harvard University. Moreover, many local experts gave presentations during these talk sessions to share their current clinical and translational MR research. In their presentations, the researchers told their colleagues about the MR work done in their institutions and opportunities for collaboration.  Finally, a dedicated panel discussion was held in order to brainstorm diverse ideas focused on how to improve MR research in Thailand.

The event was endorsed and supported by the major medical and engineering societies in Thailand including: Radiological Society of Thailand, Thai Biomedical Engineering society, Advanced Diagnostic Imaging and Image-guided Minimal Invasive Therapy Center, Medical Imaging Center, Thai Society of Radiological Technologist, National Electronics and Computer Technology Center, and Thai Medical Physicist Society. The evening social events provided an opportunity for networking in the relaxing atmosphere with delicious Thai cuisine and cultural performances. Encouraged by the warm reception and positive feedback from all participants, we are already starting the preparations for the next seminar in 2014.