MRPulse






 

E-news from the
International Society for Magnetic Resonance
in Medicine

Vol. 2, Issue 2, Oct 2013

Spotlight on ISMRM Workshop on Dynamic MR Imaging & Spectroscopy of Psychiatric Illness

         The ISMRM Dynamic MR Imaging and Spectroscopy of Psychiatric Illness Workshop was held 7-10 September 2013 in Lisbon, Portugal.  It was very well received by the psychiatric imaging community, with over 40 participants attending from Europe and the US of which 30% were MD, 60% were PhD and 10% undeclared.  In addition, a quarter of the attendees were trainees/students.  The small size of the workshop allowed for a more intimate setting where attendees could meet, mingle and exchange ideas.  This allowed for several interactive discussions of various hot topics in psychiatric imaging where almost all of the attendees participated in a relaxed, collegial fashion.  When the meeting began, there were speakers and attendees; by the end of the workshop, there were only colleagues and friends.
         The workshop began with lectures from Drs. John Port (Rochester, Minnesota, USA) and Stephen Strakowski (Cincinnati, Ohio, USA) who elaborated on the current state of psychiatric imaging, spectroscopy, diagnostic classification schemes and evolution of various psychiatric diseases over time, setting the stage for the remainder of the workshop.  Over the next three days, the group heard from an outstanding group of world leaders discussing state-of-the-art imaging and spectroscopic findings of psychiatric illness over both long (days to months) and short (seconds to minutes) timespans.  Speakers included Drs. Gabriele Ende (Manheim, Germany), Neva Corrigan (Seattle, Washington, USA), Paul Croarkin (Rochester, Minnesota, USA), Graeme Mason (New Haven, Connecticut, USA), Todd Constable (New Haven, Connecticut, USA), Paul Unschuld (Zurich, Switzerland), and Dikoma Shungu (New York, New York, USA).  Interspersed in between these talks were oral presentations given by students and young investigators on related topics.  There was also a three-hour walking tour in which most of the attendees participated; the group learned much about the history and culture of Lisbon and the Portuguese people.  The group also enjoyed an amuse bouche meal from the piano bar on the top of the hotel, feasting as well on the breath-taking view of the Lisbon harbor.  As always, the workshop raised more questions than it answered, but all left Lisbon energized and ready to continue working on their projects from an enlightened viewpoint.  The program, with recorded oral presentations available, are available for viewing 1 January for the ISMRM membership.  If you are interested in purchasing early access, please contact the ISMRM Central Office at info@ismrm.org .
        The Psychiatric MRI and MRS Study Group would like to thank the ISMRM as well as Isotec, Inc., for sponsoring the workshop.  The Study Group acknowledges gratefully the ISMRM Research & Education Fund for providing stipend support for our trainee/student participants.  This was the 4th successful workshop hosted by the study group since 2005.   Many thanks also to Sandra Daudlin who managed the on-site meeting operations and kept everything running smoothly.