Last week a near-record 1,500 physicians, sonographers, scientists, students, and educators from across the country and around the world gathered in New York City to network, share, and learn. It was, by all accounts, one of the biggest and best AIUM Conventions yet!

What it made so great? A variety of educational opportunities covering a wide range of topics addressing at least 19 different specialties is just the start. More interaction across disciplines to share techniques, more hands-on learning labs, new product releases, and collaborative learning events added to the excitement and collegiality.

If you were in New York City, we hope you shared your feedback in the follow-up surveys. If you were unable to make it this year, here are a few of the highlights:

New Offerings—As if putting on the AIUM Convention weren’t enough, we decided to make a host of changes. We doubled the number of hands-on learning labs (most sold out), we added the more intimate Meet-the-Professor sessions (again, most sold out), we enhanced networking by adding exhibit hall receptions, we brought back the mobile app to make navigating the event easier, and we invited our corporate partners to host Industry Symposia, which included education, networking, and food. Whew!

SonoSlam—In its third year, a record number of medical schools (21) sent teams to compete for the coveted Peter Arger Cup. This year’s winning team, F.A.S.T. and Furious, is from the University of Connecticut. They competed last year and had so much fun they returned and were triumphant! Save the date for next year—April 6. Big thanks to headline sponsor CoapTech.

Global Plenary—AIUM President Brian Coley, MD, hosted the Plenary session that featured a lecture on global health from John Lawrence, MD, President of the Board of Directors for Doctors Without Borders-USA. This was followed by Roberto Romero, MD DMedSci, who presented the William J. Fry Memorial Lecture on ultrasound imaging and computational methods to improve the diagnosis and care of pregnant women and their unborn children. The entire Plenary Session is available on the AIUM Facebook Page.

Social Media—This year was the most active social media convention ever for the AIUM. From streaming live videos on Facebook to more than 754 individuals participating and sharing on Twitter (a 50% increase over last year), the social media scene was active and engaging.

Fun Activities—Not only was #AIUM18 educational, it was also fun. This year attendees could participate in a morning jog through Central Park; do a scavenger hunt with the AIUM app (Congrats to Offir Ben-David, RDMS, from Stamford, CT, and Jefferson Svengsouk, MD, MBA, RDMS, from Rochester, NY, for winning prizes by completing the scavenger hunt); network during 3 different AIUM receptions and the new Industry Symposia; and win prizes at the AIUM booth (Congrats to Jenna Rothblat who won a free 2019 AIUM Convention registration).

Sold-out Exhibit Hall—This year’s exhibit hall was the most exciting and active it has ever been. At least 3 companies unveiled new ultrasound machines and several others shared their insights with live video feeds. Combine that with networking receptions and New York street fare at lunchtime, and the exhibit hall was always the place to be.

Award Winners—AIUM was proud to recognize the following award winners (look for upcoming blog posts and videos from some of these individuals):

Wesley Lee, MD, FAIUM—Joseph H. Holmes Clinical Pioneer Award

William D. Middleton, MD—Joseph H. Holmes Clinical Pioneer Award

Thomas R. Yellen-Nelson, PhD, FAAPM, FAIUM—Joseph H. Holmes Basic Science Pioneer Award

Tracy Anton, BS, RDMS, RDCS, FAIUM—Distinguished Sonographer Award

Alfred Abuhamad, MD, FAIUM—Peter H. Arger, MD Excellence in Medical Student Education Award

Creagh Boulger—Carmine M. Valente Distinguished Service Award

Rachel Liu—Carmine M. Valente Distinguished Service Award

Lexie Cowger—Carmine M. Valente Distinguished Service Award

Adriana Suely de Oliveira Melo, MD, PhD—AIUM Honorary Fellow

Simcha Yagel, MD, FAIUM—AIUM Honorary Fellow

E-poster winners—Every year, the AIUM supports an e-poster program. This year, a record number of abstracts were submitted and the AIUM recognized the following e-poster winners:

• First place, Basic Science: Construction and Characterization of an Economical PVDF Membrane Hydrophone for Medical Ultrasound, presented by Yunbo Liu, PhD, from the FDA, Silver Spring, MD.
• First place, Education: Investigation into the Role of Novel Anthropomorphic Breast Ultrasound Phantoms in Radiology Resident Education, presented by Donald Tradup, RDMS, RT, from Mayo Clinic-Department of Radiology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-Department of Radiology, Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland.
• First place, Clinical Science: Sonography of Pediatric Superficial Lumps and Bumps: Illustrative Examples from Head to Toe presented by Anmol Bansal, MD, Mount Sinai Hospital, Icahn School of Medicine.
• Second place, Basic Science: Strain Rate Imaging for Visualization of Mechanical Contraction, presented by Martin V. Andersen, MS, from Duke University.
• Second place, Education: Sonography in Internal Medicine, Baseline Assessment (MGH SIMBA Study), presented by Tommy Heyne, MD, MSt, Massachusetts General Hospital-Department of Internal Medicine and Department of Emergency Medicine.
• Second place, Clinical Science: Serial Cervical Consistency Index Measurements and Prediction of Preterm Birth < 34 Weeks in Twin Pregnancies, presented by Vasilica Stratulat, CRGS, ARDMS, MD, Sunnybrook Health Sciences.

Up and Comers—In addition to our national awards and our eposter winners, the AIUM also recognizes its New Investigators, which this year were sponsored by Canon.

Nonclinical
Winner— Ivan M. Rosado-Mendez, PhD, for “Quantitative Ultrasound Assessment of Neurotoxicity of Anesthetics in the Young Rhesus Macaque Brain.”

Clinical Ultrasound
Winner— Ping Gong, PhD, for “Ultra-Sensitive Microvessel Imaging for Breast Tumors:  Initial Experiences.”

Honorable Mentions
Juvenal Ormachea, MS, for “Reverberant Shear Wave Elastography: Implementation and Feasibility Studies.”

Kathryn Lupez, MD, for “Goal Directed Echo and Cardiac Biomarker Prediction of 5-Day Clinical Deterioration in Pulmonary Embolism.”