BSNR New Year Update 2022
I hope you had a good Christmas and that you’re thriving in this New Year.
There’s been a lot of progress within the BSNR over the last few months, and below are our Top Ten highlights.
Annual Scientific Meeting – London, November 2021. Tarek Yousry and colleagues organised and ran a fabulous meeting at the Royal College of Physicians with the gala dinner at the Kimpton Fitzroy Hotel in Russell Square. There was a record attendance, with by far the largest number of registrants (around 250 people) that we have ever had. There was a stellar cast of international Neuroradiology speakers, including Professors Tom Naidich, Anne Osborn, Timo Krings and Katrin Amunts, and an absorbing academic programme was provided by a wide range of home-grown talent from the Home Countries. Just as impressive to me was the vibrancy and youthful energy that suffused the whole event. The 2022 event will be taking place in Liverpool, to be followed by Edinburgh in 2023 and Bristol in 2024.
Educational Programme. Ian Craven and colleagues on the Training and Education Subcommittee have continued to develop and present the weekly educational programme. This systematically covers the entire Neuroradiology landscape over the course of two years, and is of a standard which rivals that of established international training programmes. It relies on support from a huge range of teachers, with approximately 40 Consultants from around the country providing the lectures. There have been many thousands of downloads of the sessions, accessed from countries in every continent. There have also been other exciting developments, including the introduction of live and interactive film-viewing teaching sessions, available throughout the UK and delivered by some of our most outstanding trainers. 2022 will also see the start of a national programme delivering on call training to ST1 to ST3 trainees: this is seen as a key part of our drive to be accessible, visible and supportive to trainees in their earlier years.
Grand Round Series. Priya Bhatnagar and Shubh Biswas have continued to host and develop the successful Grand Round Series. Not only has this been a great opportunity for UK centres to showcase their own trainees and cases, but it continues to be a key part of the BSNR’s drive to engage internationally. Last week, we were fortunate to have several speakers from Hong Kong presenting to us: this opportunity was highly prized by our friends in HK, and is a great demonstration of the powerful and constructive effect that this engagement can have. We have also had recent presentations from South Africa, Canada, Singapore, Kuwait, Netherlands, India and Brazil. The ESNR is keen to develop a collaborative relationship in the further development of this forum.
Trainer of the Year. This year’s ASM saw the inaugural Trainer of the Year award presented. Trainers were proposed from around the country, with supportive testimonies, and a short-list was considered by a committee from within the Executive and TESC. There were two winners this year, Jo Jarosz (King’s) and Adam Thomas (Nottingham). Jo collected his award in person at the ASM, and received a very well deserved ovation.
British Paediatric Neuroradiology Group. Kish Mankad has done a tremendous job in establishing the BPNG, and is encouraging an inclusive approach. The BPNG has drawn up the Paediatric Module for the TESC’s Educational Programme, working with Lal Carlton-Jones, and has drafts for imaging protocols close to finalisation. The BPNG is engaging very effectively with key international groups, and is representing the BSNR-BPNG very well in the process.
International engagement. International engagement efforts have continued to bear fruit. The BSNR has been formally asked to provide a proportion of the educational programme at the Australia and New Zealand ASM in March, and is providing a number of high class speakers. We closely supported Timo Krings and colleagues in the provision of the Canadian Neuroradiology Course in November 2021. The BSNR is also central to a major collaborative effort between Dubai / UAE and the Royal College of Radiologists in the organisation of a major global Radiological Congress taking place in Dubai in September of this year. Plans are also in place for a collaborative effort with Singapore, Hong Kong and the Asian-Oceania Society of Neuroradiology. Continued engagement will take place through the ongoing Grand Round Series also.
Evening lectures. The Christmas Lecture, given by Professor Sahar Saleem on “What it’s like to be Radiologist to the Pharaohs” was a tour de force. We were fortunate to have the world’s first sight of the digital unwrapping of a royal mummy, two days before the world media took the story up. We are really fortunate to have one of the world’s most famous Neuroradiologists talking to us in the Spring Lecture: Frank Gaillard (Melbourne), the founder of Radiopaedia, has agreed to talk with us – this will be a great opportunity for us to engage and talk with one of the most inspirational and innovative thinkers in our field. The talk will be on Thursday 24th March at 8 pm (so that it’s not too early in the morning for Frank!) We will send out flyers beforehand, but please make note of the date.
Radiographers Forum. We have established a BSNR Forum for Neuroradiographers. The drive for this comes from suggestions made in the BSNR Survey of 2020, and this dovetails with Liverpool’s ASM plans, which include parallel sessions for our Neuroradiography colleagues. There has been an excellent response, with primarily senior radiographers, often with superintendent or advanced practitioner roles, attending. Please communicate this to your Neuroradiography colleagues, as the message may not have got through effectively everywhere. The Forum is an important step to opening up the Society, and to increasing its day-to-day relevance.
Royal College of Radiologists. We are building closer relations with the Royal College. This is an important collaboration, and I hope that the strengths and dynamism that exist within the BSNR can help us to achieve even greater things through the benefits provided by an organisation with the national and global reach of the College.
Equality representative. It is crucial that the Society is as fully representative of its members as possible, and to this end the BSNR will be appointing an Equality and Diversity Representative. This role will be important in promoting inclusivity within and accessibility to the Society’s committees and roles, and also at the Annual Scientific Meeting. Further details of this role and of the objectives will follow.
You will have seen that Dr Dipayan Mitra will be taking over as President of the BSNR at the ASM in Liverpool. Dipayan is a great choice for the Society and he has a very broad and insightful perspective on the matters that affect us. A number of opportunities will be arising in the coming months to take up key roles within the Society, and you are strongly encouraged to consider contributing in this way. Details will follow.
Finally, my profound thanks go to my colleagues on the BSNR Executive and on the Subcommittees, and to all who have contributed to and supported the programme of work that we have undertaken on your behalf. Our aim has been to make the BSNR the finest Neuroradiology Society that we can, and ultimately the success of our efforts have depended on all of your support, input and involvement. Thank you for your continued support.
With all best wishes
Danny
Daniel Birchall
President, BSNR
Applications are currently open for an interventional neuroradiology fellowship in a high-volume 24/7 thrombectomy centre at the Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, Ireland to commence July 2022.
For more details please see the application link here: https://radiology.ie/training/applications-for-training-programme-new#higher.
The closing date is 21st January 2022.
We are pleased to announce our Paediatric Neuroradiology module is starting on the 10th January, in collaboration with the British Paediatric Neuroimaging Group, as part of the BSNR Educational Programme. Please visit the Educational Programme page to register and for more details (those already registered for the educational programme do not need to re-register).
We are very pleased to announce the provisional programme for the BSNR Annual Meeting – you can download it here: BSNR ASM Provisional Programme.
Among the many highlights, we are very fortunate to have Professor Timo Krings from Toronto Western Hospital delivering the Brian Kendall Lecture and Professor Dr Katrin Amunts from the Vogt Institute for Brain Research delivering the James Bull lecture. We are also privileged to be joined by Professor Ann Osborn and Dr Thomas Naidich among numerous excellent speakers.
We are looking forward to seeing everyone – please do visit the Annual Meeting page.
Details of the accompanying Trainee Day will be released soon.
I hope all is well with you, and that you’re enjoying the summer break.
I thought it important to share with you a Summer Update regarding recent developments relating to the BSNR.
1. The Educational Programme has just completed its first year, and has covered modules in Trauma, Neuro-Oncology, Inflammatory White Matter Disorders, and Neuro-Infection. This has been organised by Ian Craven and colleagues on the Training and Education subcommittee (TESC), and is being taken forward in Year 2 by Lalani Carlton-Jones and Tom Campion. The programme involves and depends on the support and teaching of many of our Neuroradiologists around the country, and continues to be extremely well received. Nearly 30 sessions have been delivered, with an average of 174 attendees per session. The videos of the lectures have also been watched more than 7,000 times. Year 2 modules will include Spinal Neuroradiology, Paediatric Neuroradiology, Head and Neck Imaging, and Neurodegenerative Disorders. Thanks go to all on the TESC, especially to Lalani for co-ordinating the speakers and to Tom for managing feedback and the video presentations on the website. Thank you to all who have supported the programme by their teaching.
2. The Grand Round Series has flourished, and is growing as a forum for teaching and sharing between centres. Recent presentations have been provided from within the UK by Imperial, Liverpool, GOSH, Brighton, Guy’s & St Thomas’, Newcastle, Birmingham, Kings, and Royal Free. The Series also provides a great opportunity for connecting with our international sister societies, and we have been fortunate to receive tremendous presentations from Toronto and Kuwait recently, with future presentations due from Brazil, Singapore and South Africa, with additional input anticipated from the Netherlands, Australia and Hong Kong later in the year and into early 2022. Priya Bhatnagar has been instrumental in co-ordinating the Series and has put in a huge amount of work communicating and connecting within the UK and internationally.
3. Shubh Biswas from Liverpool has been instrumental on behalf of the BSNR in the planning, co-ordination and delivery of a highly successful Global Webinar Series, in conjunction with the Royal College. This has consisted of a series of six lectures, with a mix of high profile international and UK speakers, to a global audience. The Series has been very well attended, with hundreds of attendees from around the world logging into the webinars. This has helped to further promote the role of the BSNR internationally, and has helped to strengthen our ties with the College. Many thanks to Shubh for the huge amount of work and dedication that he put into this on our behalf.
4. Plans are in place for the Training and Education Committee to extend the educational programme even further, through the introduction of Virtual Reporting Sessions. Having trialled RadAcad software, Ian Craven and colleagues will be providing virtual reporting training sessions with higher Neuroradiology trainees, in collaboration with local training schemes. This is a tremendously exciting initiative, and has the potential to provide high quality, small group teaching from nationally renowned trainers.
5. The second of our Evening Lectures was delivered at Easter, by Paul Sankey, of Foot Anstey Solicitors. Paul gave a lecture on medico-legal issues facing our speciality, including problems relating to perceptual errors, and built on the Christmas Lecture from Professor Jeremy Wolfe, who also attended Paul’s lecture as a panellist. The lecture was highly engaging and informative, and had over 500 attendees.
6. The BSNR continues to build its international collaborations. We continue to develop close links with the Australian and New Zealand Society, and have been invited to contribute to an ‘international session’ at the upcoming ANZSNR Conference in early 2022, with a view to reciprocation at BSNR conferences in the future. This connection is also closely involving Singapore and Hong Kong, with whom we have developed good communications. As an illustration of how effectively such collaborations can work, a highly successful seminar was delivered by the BSNR to the Brazilian Society in May, with six very high quality lectures from neuroradiologists from around the UK. Kelly Pegoretti Baruteau from UCL was instrumental in this, not only as a presenter but also as a Brazilian and Portuguese speaker, she helped make the seminar seamless.
7. The BSNR has established a subgroup in Paediatric Imaging, the British Paediatric Neuroradiology Group. This has been established with a view to promoting education and standards in Paediatric Neuroradiology, including Neonatal and Fetal imaging. The Group is at an early stage of formation, and Kish Mankad is the initial interim Chair. It is hoped that the Group will provide an effective vessel for Paediatric Neuroimaging, and is important in building bridges between specialists, with non-tertiary centres, with the British Society of Paediatric Radiology, and internationally. Your help and support during this formative stage is essential to the success of this project.
8. The BSNR is setting up a forum for the discussion of issues relating to AI in Neuroradiology. An initial scoping exercise is underway with a view to establishing the BSNR as a stakeholder in the process, building on the expertise that exists within our ranks. A survey will be sent out to help us to frame the best scope and focus for our initial efforts. Links with NICE have already been put in place.
9. Collaborative discussions are underway with our friends and colleagues within our sister society, the UKNG, to forge a joint co-operative approach to issues relating to Interventional Neuroradiology and to its interface with Diagnostic Neuroradiology. This is an exciting development from an organisational perspective and will provide the basis for effective cross-working and resource sharing.
10. The planning for the BSNR Annual Scientific Meeting is at an advanced stage, with a view to a face-to-face meeting in London on Thursday 18th and Friday 19th November, to take place at the Royal College of Physicians. A training day will also take place on Wednesday 17th November. There is an exciting and busy programme scheduled, with top quality international and national speakers. Details will follow very shortly. Thanks go to Tarek Yousry and his team for their hard work and inspirational leadership.
As I hope you can see, there has been a considerable amount of progress made, all dependent on the hard work, support and engagement of a large number of individuals. The continued success and development of the programme depends on your continued support and involvement.
I would again wish to thank the BSNR executive and all on the BSNR subcommittees for their hard work, enthusiasm, and drive, working on your behalf.
Thank you all for your continued support in making the BSNR as exciting, inclusive and relevant a society as we can.
With all best wishes
Daniel Birchall
President, BSNR
We were extremely fortunate to have eminent clinical negligence solicitor Paul Sankey talking to us on 21st April, picking up where Professor Jeremy Wolfe left off in our Christmas lecture (which is still available to watch here); after Professor Wolfe told us about why we miss things, Paul Sankey gave an engaging and informative lecture about what happens after radiologists miss things. His fascinating talk took us through the key cases that have shaped the law as it currently stands, and where he feels there is still progress to be made. Of interest to all radiologists and indeed all health professionals and beyond, Mr Sankey asked: what is reasonable care when it comes to pure diagnostics, and how does the law recognise this? This was followed by a fascinating panel discussion involving Mr Sankey, Professor Wolfe, BSNR President Dr Daniel Birchall, and BSNR Educational Committee Lead Dr Ian Craven.
Please do watch and share the lecture – available via youtube here.
OMG, I did not see that! The science of missing what is in front of your eyes
We were extremely lucky to have Jeremy Wolfe, Professor of Ophthalmology & Radiology, Harvard Medical School and Director, Visual Attention Laboratory, Brigham and Women’s Hospital as our inaugural BSNR Christmas Lecturer on the 16th December. He delivered a fascinating talk on his research on the psychology of perception and what causes us to miss things like gorillas in chest CTs! The lecture recording is available above (we apologise for technical difficulties at the start).
Professor Wolfe was awarded the James Bull medal and honorary fellowship of the BSNR by our President, Daniel Birchall. More information on the fascinating research he and his group are involved in is available here.
Results of the BSNR Constitution & Membership Survey
Dear Colleagues,
Thank you to those of you who contributed to the recent survey about two matters relating to the constitution and membership of the Society. The results were overwhelmingly in favour of the proposed changes. Each of the changes is of fundamental importance to the forward development of the BSNR. They will make the Society more resilient to face the future, and are an important step in developing the Society’s inclusivity. Firstly, there was overwhelming support for the BSNR to apply for the status of a Foundation Charitable Incorporated Organisation (ICO). This is important in terms of basic organisational functioning and resilience, for example in relation to management of financial affairs, including funding and sponsorship. A formal application has now been lodged with the Charity Commission.
Secondly, there was similar support for the introduction of a new, free associate membership category for trainees. This is a very significant development as it allows and encourages trainees of all seniority to engage with Neuroradiology at an early stage. It also assists greatly in the promotion and management of the new, webinar-based educational programme, which is key to engaging better and in promoting inclusivity. The new category will become active fairly shortly.
Thank you for your support.
All best wishes,
Daniel Birchall (President)
Harriet Joy (Honorary Secretary)
Dipayan Mitra (Treasurer)
We are very please to announce the members who will be awarded the Isherwood Pump Priming Grant and the Travelling Scholarships for 2020, from a very high quality field of applications.
The 2020 Isherwood Pump Priming Grant is awarded to Dr Aysha Luis.
The 2020 Travelling Scholarships are awarded to Dr Jaoa Alves Rosa and Dr Lalani Carlton Jones.
Deadline 24th August 2020
Applications for the 2020 Isherwood Pump Priming Grant (up to £10,000) and the 2020 BSNR Travelling Scholarships (up to £2000) are now open, and the deadline is 5pm on 24th August 2020. For more details on how to apply, see the individual pages here: