ECR extends time deadlines for electronic posters

The European Congress of Radiology has seen a steady rise in abstract submission in recent years, marking an increase in global interest that has also been reflected in the event’s attendance statistics. The European Society of Radiology now aims to boost active participation even further by providing radiologists with the opportunity to submit their work outside the confines of the usual schedule. It is hoped that by offering more flexibility, authors will be encouraged to submit to EPOS, the ESR’s electronic presentation system, as and when their work is completed, rather than wait for a relatively brief submission period or submit elsewhere.

The previous ECR abstract submission process, which was open to both oral and electronic presentations, has been divided into two sections for ECR 2011. Abstract submission for oral presentations will follow the same procedure as always (opening on July 5 and closing on Sept. 18) but authors submitting abstracts for electronic exhibits or posters can now do so at almost any time of year. EPOS opened on April 5, 2010, and authors will be able to submit poster abstracts until the system closes more than nine months later, on Jan. 20, 2011.

A vital part of this new system has been the introduction of monthly submission cycles, making use of the ranks of reviewers who already serve the ESR in other capacities. At the end of each month, submitted abstracts are reviewed and graded over a period of two weeks, meaning submitting authors will always get swift feedback on acceptance or rejection. If accepted, authors are invited to upload their poster to EPOS, where it will immediately be allocated a DOI and become a fully citable, permanent online publication. Even if an author eventually chooses not to attend the ECR, acceptance still means a fast route to publication and offers a useful new avenue to newcomers to radiological publishing.

Each author will have his or her first accepted poster published free of charge and will receive a certificate of publication confirming its inclusion in EPOS. Additional posters may also be published, subject to a small publication fee, and as soon as presenting authors register for the congress, their posters will automatically become part of the ECR 2011 electronic poster exhibition.

Click here to access the submission system or find further instructions.