Report on Euroson School

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International Breast Ultrasound School in conjunction with the Latvian Association of Roantgenologists and Radiologists Advanced Breast Imaging Seminar, Riga, Latvia, September 17-18, 2004

The two-day seminar was held at the Reval Hotel Latvia in Riga under auspices of the European School on Breast Imaging (administered by the European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology) in conjunction with the Latvian Association of Roentgenologists and Radiologists, and the Latvian Society of Ultrasound in Medicine. More than 150 participants attended with the majority from Latvia and the other Baltic countries; there were a number of registrants from other countries within Europe with clinicians representing Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy and Poland.

The International Breast Ultrasound School together with the local organizing committee created a stimulating programme which met the high standards for continuing medical education. The lectures were complemented by interactive workshops, panel discussions and case presentations. Many years of expertise gained by the local and particularly, the international faculty members helped to ensure knowledge transfer in an efficient and fast manner. So it was in part predictable that comments from the participants were enthusiastic; ranging from "most useful, too much information in too short a time, more mammography, more workshops" with an overall rating of 5: that is, good, very good, and excellent.

This seminar covered the whole scope of current breast imaging modalities (Prof. A. Mundinger, Germany) and many detailed questions were presented and discussed such as intraductal cancer spread and its documentation, screening options (Prof. E. Azavedo, Sweden; Dr. S. Ulp, Estonia) mammographical criteria of different breast diseases (Dr. S. Pankl-Huber, Austria), use of colour-Doppler for the improvement of diagnostic accuracy (Dr. W. E. Svensson, Great Britain) and a number of other topics were also included.

Quality assurance, guidelines, accreditation processes and historical perspectives (Dr. Jack. Jellins, Australia) were presented in detail for breast ultrasound. These topics described the developments in different countries, and are important in improving the clinical practice of this imaging modality.

An important point to learn was cell- and tissue-harvesting (Prof. E. Azavedo, Sweden; Prof. R. Otto, Switzerland) as well as the identification and documentation of benign and malignant diagnostic criteria in breast diseases. The whole spectrum of pathological lumps was presented (Dr. D. Baltina, Latvia) and different panel discussions were included in this meeting. The participants followed all papers with much enthusiasm, and discussions were comprehensive.

In Latvia as in previously-held seminars in different countries around the world, the IBUS programme brought together breast imaging and breast disease experts who were able to provide a better understanding of the recent developments in breast imaging modalities, and their role in recognising breast pathology. The topics for this programme were selected to provide a broad information base from which benign and malignant disease could be assessed, and to demonstrate the value of high quality breast imaging. The objectives of this seminar were to improve the detection and diagnosis of breast disease by understanding the diversity of appearances, and to provide a reliable diagnosis by correlating the imaging results with pathology, i.e. mammography, sonography, and MRI.

The ability to hold this seminar was made possible by the special efforts of Dr. Peteris Prieditis, the Founding President of the Latvian Society of Ultrasound in Medicine who was instrumental in arranging for IBUS to be invited to Latvia. In addition, Dr. Ilze Sedleniece, the President of the Latvian Society of Ultrasound in Medicine was the key person in bringing this educational seminar to fruition as a result of her devotion and commitment in ensuring that all aspects of the scientific and social programme were perfectly arranged.

Encouragement and support for this IBUS seminar was provided by the European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (EFSUMB) through Professor Kurt Jäger, the EFSUMB President, and Professor Lucas Greiner, the EFSUMB Honorary Secretary, and it is the aim of EFSUMB to foster high quality teaching programmes on breast imaging as part of the continuing educational activities of the EUROSON School on Breast Imaging.

A number of medical equipment companies and distributors participated with an exhibition of current technology, and provided equipment for the workshop sessions. The companies included B-K Medical, NMS Diagnostika, GE Healthcare, Philips, Digiteks, Schering, and Tamro. The collaboration of these companies is gratefully acknowledged, and was an essential component in the interactive workshop sessions.

This seminar was successful due to the contributions of the faculty members, and the excellent planning and arrangements provided by the local organizing committee. There is a continuing need for high quality teaching programmes, and IBUS is planning further breast imaging seminars in the near future.

Professor Rainer Otto

IBUS Honorary Secretary

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