March 5, 2021
President's Message for 2021
Dear Friends and Colleagues in the Society:

As incoming President of SCMR, I’m honored to follow in the esteemed footsteps of Dr. James Carr and a long line of exemplary leaders who have been careful stewards of our society’s remarkable progress to date. I am grateful for your engagement as we work together to advance clinical practice, science, and education across our collective disciplines and communities around the world.

How will we succeed in our mission, to improve cardiovascular health by advancing the field of CMR? By engaging diverse voices and perspectives in everything we do; by not just recognizing barriers but rolling up our sleeves together to work on creative solutions; and by dreaming big – bringing disruptive innovation to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart and vascular disease via CMR.

How will we fail? By allowing the inevitable volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity inherent to everything we do (amplified amidst an ongoing pandemic that won’t disappear overnight) slow us down. If we see challenges as opportunities, our collective talent can deliver sustaining advances in realizing our mission.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to your management staff, board of trustees, and me any time – you are the society, and the society is here for you.

With high regards and best wishes to each of you, and great expectations for all of us.
Subha Raman, MD, FSCMR
SCMR President
Best of SCMR 2021 Webinar
March 12, 2021
9 am ET

Help Wanted!
laptop_open.jpg
SCMR is seeking a volunteer to serve as its webmaster.
 
Those who wish to be considered should:
  • Have web and/or social media experience
  • Include a one page cover letter with relevant experience
  • Be a member in good standing for five consecutive years (three years for Early Career candidates)
 
Deadline to apply is April 15, 2021
#SCMR2021 Success
This year’s (virtual) Scientific Sessions was a huge success with record levels of participation and engagement online. There was a hard-working committee behind the scenes & SCMR would like to thank all the individuals who took part in the event for your engagement and support. The event connected over 2,000 participants live between February 18 - 20, 2021.
 
The Program Committee did a fantastic job producing a schedule full of timely content, educational opportunities, and expert debate - we would like to especially thank them for their efforts and hard-work in giving back to our community.
 
All registrants STILL have free access to the content on-demand through May 31, 2021. Please continue to re-visit the sessions on-demand here. If you didn’t get time to register you still have time to do so retrospectively and access all content - click here.
 
It all began on February 18, Day 1 included the Pediatrics/Congenital Heart Disease Course, Physician's Introduction to CMR Pre-Conference Course, the SCMR-ISMRM Workshop, and several Special Interest Group meetings. Day 2 included the Opening Plenary covering the challenging topic at-hand - COVID-19. Check out the eagerly anticipated debate – “CMR is Useful in All Patients with COVID”. Click here to watch now. On the final day, Christopher Francois, Program Chair, opened the Closing Plenary online. While reviewing several highlights, he proudly shared that this year's virtual event massively increased global participation with a 43% increase in the number of countries participating and a 52% increase in individual  registrations compared to 2020. To watch the Closing Plenary on-demand click here. The closing presentations led up to the final announcement, the 2021 Gold Medal Awardees
 
To navigate through the on-demand content, use the tool bar on the side to narrow-down selections or type in the search bar.
Welcome SCMR's Newest Board Members
Vice Secretary Treasurer
Michael Markl, Northwestern University
Chicago, IL USA
Board Members

Lars Grosse-Wortmann, Oregon Health & Science University Portland, OR USA

Amit Patel, University of Chicago     
Chicago, IL USA

Nicole Seiberlich, University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI USA
Thank You to Our Sponsors
Congratulations to All of This Year's SCMR Award Recipients
Gold Medal Award
The Gold Medal is the highest award given by the SCMR to an individual for distinguished and extraordinary service to the field of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance and to the Society. SCMR is proud to announce that the 2021 recipients are Dr. Matthias Friedrich and Dr. Matthias Stuber for their great and vast contributions to the field of CMR and to the Society.

Master of the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Imaging (MSCMR)
The Master of the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (MSCMR) credential is reserved for those individuals who have demonstrated outstanding scientific, educational, and/or clinical accomplishments in the field of CMR, distinguished service to the Society, and continuous membership over an extended period of time.  SCMR is proud to announce the 2021 MSCMR recipients are Dr. Edward T. Martin and Dr. Andrew Powell in recognition of their years of hard work, dedication, and impact to the CMR Field.
Member Success Stories
Seed Grant Award
The SCMR Science Committee announced the recipients of its annual Seed Grant competition. Sonia Nielles-Vallespin, 2020 SCMR Science Committee Chair, announced the 2020 Seed Grant recipients:
 
  • Debbie Falconer, Royal Free London - A novel re-usable, CMR-compatible ECGi vest for large-scale clinical research use: SMART-ECGi (Clinical)

  •  Amita Singh, University of Chicago - Multicenter Study of Automated Quantitative (AQUA) Myocardial Perfusion to Improve Stress CMR Interpretation and Reporting (Basic)

Both recipients will present results during the 2022 Scientific Sessions.
Early Career Awards
Michael Salerno, University of Virginia, announced the winners of the 2021 Early Career Awards. The three categories were clinical, translational, and basic science

 
CLINICAL
JAKUB LAGAN
“Mechanisms underlying the association of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with heart failure”






TRANSLATIONAL
DAVID MARLEVI
“Under pressure - using 4D Flow MRI to predict false lumen pressurization and aortic growth in Type B aortic dissection”








BASIC SCIENCE
DEBBIE FALCONER
“A novel re-usable, CMR-compatible ECGi vest for large-scale clinical research use: SMART-ECGi”
JCMR Awards
From Cambridge, MA, USA, Warren Manning, Editor and Chief of JCMR, presented the winners and runners-up of the 14th Gerald M. Pohost and the 3rd Dudley Pennell Awards.
14th Gerald M. Pohost Award

A comparison of cine CMR imaging at 0.55 T and 1.5 T

3rd Dudley Pennell Award

Reference ranges for cardiac structure and function using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in Caucasians from the UK Biobank population cohort

It's Time to Renew
SCMR Education Corner
Contributed by Patricia Feuchter and Chris (Benny) Lawton
SCMR Technologist Committee
Left Ventricle Long Axis Slice Positioning
The left ventricle (LV) long axis (LA) slices are an integral part of nearly all CMR protocols. Collectively these images provide complete evaluation of all four chambers, the surrounding myocardium, and the mitral, tricuspid and aortic valves. Great care and attention are required to make sure each LA slice is positioned correctly, and therefore demonstrates the key anatomical landmarks of the heart. To assist slice positioning you will need to use two orthogonal LA localisers and a short axis (SA) stack, typically 6-8 images covering the entire LV. The series of images below show the optimal slice positions for each LA, and how the resulting image should appear.
Top tip: Always ensure every slice bisects the LV apex.
The SCMR Online Learning Portal

Here are links to specific subject areas that include CME.

  • Physics (CME): Basic magnetic resonance physics, basic pulse sequences, advanced pulse sequences, and safety




Translations
Recently Published
New translations are now available for Turkish and Italian.

"Standardized Image Interpretation and
Post-Processing in CMR: 2020 Update"

"Standardized CMR Imaging Protocols:
2020 Update"

SCMR Case of the Week

A 34 year old naval officer, otherwise fit and healthy, with no known family history of cardiomyopathies, presented with chest pain (CP), poorly tolerated atrial fibrillation and progressive hypotension. An echocardiogram showed asymmetric septal hypertrophy, with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and severe left atrial enlargement. 

SCMR COVID-19 Case

A 60-year-old male volunteer for the homeless presented to the emergency room with a 2-week history of progressively worsening shortness of breath. He had been diagnosed with COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) by a positive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) PCR in an urgent care facility 4 days prior to presentation. 

#SCMR2021 | Social Media
Just for Fun
SCMR Contests!
Best Tweet Contest
Tweets containing the hashtag #SCMR2021 and posted during the Virtual Scientific Sessions were automatically entered into the Best Tweet Competition. Tweets were judged based on educational/research related content from the event, and the amount of engagement. 
 
Contest Winner:
Roosha’s ‘Building a Successful CMR Program’
"My Personal Experience in Building CMR Program: Trials and Tribulations" by CMR pioneer @MavrogeniSophie

CMR Team Spirit Video Competition
In the build-up of excitement leading up to the Virtual Scientific Sessions, SCMR challenged CMR Teams across the globe to submit a 1 minute video showcasing their CMR Team's Team Spirit while following COVID safety protocols and social distancing. These videos are pure creative entertainment that will have you singing and dancing along.

1st Place: WVU Medicine




Best Image Contest
The winner of the 7th Annual SCMR Best Image Contest goes to Priya Chudgar from Jupiter Hospital for her CMR interpretation "Every Heart Has Black and White". This annual artistic challenge is always a fun opportunity and the winner each year is chosen by the SCMR Program Committee. This year's visual takes on the meaningful notion that we are all the same. The SCMR is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of equality, diversity, and inclusion.

5K Fastest Times
Male Top 3

1st Place: Gert Snel 00:18:45
2nd Place: Jose Paiva, 00:19:57
3rd Place: Matthew Mace, 00:20:12

Female Top 3

1st Place: Nicole Carten, 00:23:36
2nd Place: Nadine Abanador-Kamper, 00:31:20
3rd Place: Jacqueline Getty, 00:32:00

Treasure Hunt
Treasure Hunt participants earned points by scanning QR Codes found by visiting and discussing the latest updates and advancements with SCMR industry partners and exhibitors.

1st Prize: Roosha Parikh

2nd Prize: Omer B. Demirel

3rd Prize: Malenka Bissell
JCMR Articles
CMR Literature Search
Please use this link for a filtered PubMed list of all CMR-related manuscripts for February 2021 – more than 300 in total!