Welcome to the 25th ECR in Vienna!

Thanks for coming to be a part of ‘the bigger picture’!

By Lorenzo E. Derchi, ESR President

ECR 2019 marks an important anniversary. This will be the 25^th ECR congress held in Vienna since 1991: a great achievement! Those who have been coming here since the beginning will find a meeting that has become bigger over the years, now including not only the Austria Center, but also many of the buildings surrounding it.

It is a true ‘congress city’, which has grown to accommodate the increasing numbers of delegates from all over the world. Those who are here for the first time will discover a congress with a wide range of opportunities to learn about the different aspects of our specialty, with sessions suited to all, from beginners to advanced professionals.

ESR President Prof. Lorenzo E. Derchi is Head of the Department of Radiology at the University of Genoa, Italy.

Over the years, the ECR has provided radiologists with a European platform for the presentation of research and debate and has been the key to the creation of a community of people working together and advancing in science and education together. This has been the result of the efforts of 24 Congress Presidents and Programme Planning Committees who, with the help of the well-structured and dedicated efforts of the ESR Scientific Programme Department, have worked as in a relay team, passing the baton from one to the next and ensuring continuity of aims and good results over the years.

The ECR has always been a creative meeting. It started with a ‘classical’ structure, made up of refresher courses, scientific presentations and posters, and, over the years, has incorporated various new ways for contributors to present scientific work. The first big innovation was in 2003, with the introduction of the electronic posters of EPOS. Then, in 2016, came the new session format ‘the Voice of Epos’ in which the scientific message of selected posters could be explained in person by their authors. Last year, the ‘MyT3’ presentations, the lounge meetings of ‘Coffee & Talk’ and the hands-on approach to interventional radiology of ‘the Cube’ were introduced. All these session formats have proven successful and will be continued, and even expanded, this year. Furthermore, an additional new session type will be launched, not only for ECR delegates, but also open to anyone who is interested in joining in. The ‘Women in Focus’ initiative will explore the challenges encountered by women in our field and in other medical and medical-related professions. It will open a debate over gender parity in our profession and will try to present role models to whom the ever-increasing number of women entering into radiology can relate. Read more…