RSNA memories dwell on more than radiology

Between the inevitably slow cab rides to and from O'Hare International Airport, the RSNA experience creates indelible

memories.

Old-timers recall how the world's largest medical meeting was once contained in a ballroom at Chicago's Palmer House Hotel. Newcomers remember their first exposure to world-class radiological research in the expansive Arie Crown Theatre and to the latest imaging technology along seemingly unending rows in the technical exhibit.

A sampling of attendee recollections about the 2008 conference reveals the social side of the RSNA meeting:

"I enjoyed the snow. I'm from the Northeast, I miss it. Other favorite memories are seeing colleagues from other institutions who are also in your specialty, being able to exchange ideas with them, seeing prior residents and learning that they're in practice and enjoying what they're doing. It's also nice to see how important breast imaging has become in the radiology world, with advances in digital, breast MRI, and ultrasound."
-- Dr. Cherie Kuzmiak, assistant professor of radiology, director breast imaging section at University of North Carolina School of Medicine

"I have traveled many times to the U.S. -- more than 50 times in 35 years -- and part of the hassle is the U.S. immigration, but I have never been denied access. For the first time, this year, after the now-usual fingerprinting and face photography, without glasses, I have been asked to open my luggage, suitcase, and hand luggage, which were searched thoroughly. Welcome to Chicago!"
-- Robert Lavayssiere, private practice radiologist in Sarcelles, France

"Among all meetings and social events, I experienced a remarkable interest from 300 to 400 participants as a speaker in ‘Photon counting: Is it the future of x-ray imaging from mammography to CT?', a symposium on new imaging technology. One hundred people standing along the walls and in the corridor must be unusual for a physics symposium and indicate a great future."
-- Dr. Hans G. Ringertz, visiting professor of radiology, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University

"This year, while riding a shuttle to the Field Museum for an RSNA event, I sat next to a radiologist whom I did not know personally. It turned out that we had worked at the same institution in the past and had many contacts in common. Fortuitously, some of the people I've lost touch with he still knew, and vice versa, allowing me to ‘virtually' catch up with people who weren't even at the meeting this year."
-- Dr. David A. Rubin, chief of the musculoskeletal radiology, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, St. Louis

My favorite experience was enjoying the RSNA with my group of research and clinical radiologists in training. For me personally, this was the most successful RSNA ever, as evidenced by the record number of publications that came out of our institution. I'm extremely proud of the folks in my group. It is testimony to their intelligence and their dedication to work. I was happy to show this magnificent event to them and share in their successes.
-- Dr. Joseph Schoepf, professor of radiology at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston