From the moment you stepped foot inside the Hilton Bonnet Creek Resort, you knew this was going to be a different kind of AIUM Convention. Maybe it was the new venue. Maybe it was all the new offerings. Maybe it was the excitement about connecting and reconnecting with colleagues from around the world.
Whatever it was, it caused a buzz in Orlando.
If you were in Orlando, we hope you felt the same. If you were unable to make it this year, here are a few of the highlights (you can see and learn even more if you search #AIUM19 on your favorite social media site):
New Offerings—Each year, the AIUM and the Annual Convention Committee look to enhance and improve the event. This year was no exception. To get the juices flowing, attendees could participate in a morning exercise class that varied each day. We added the Recharge Lounge where attendees could relax and charge up their devices. We partnered with the International Contrast Ultrasound Society on a one-day educational event. And we enhanced the Meet-the-Professor sessions.
SonoSlam—In its fourth year, 24 teams battled it out for the coveted Peter Arger Cup. The University of Connecticut’s team, PoCUS Maximus, came out on top–and defended their title! Save the date for next year—March 21 in New York City! Big thanks to headline sponsor Canon.
Social Media—From Instagram to Twitter to Facebook, Convention attendees were very active on social media at #AIUM19. And, for the first time, there was a takeover! Kristy Le, a recent RDMS graduate, took the reigns of our social accounts to give her perspective on the AIUM Convention! Search #AIUM19 to get her take!
Networking–It’s not an AIUM event if there isn’t networking. 
This year there were even more opportunities to make new contacts and reconnect with colleagues from around the world. From the morning workouts to the Presidential Reception. From Community meetings to the Welcome Reception. From the intimate Meet-the-Professor sessions to the Exhibit Hall breaks. You almost couldn’t help but expand your network.
Global Plenary—AIUM President Brian Coley, MD, hosted the Plenary session that featured a lecture on reducing workplace injuries from Kevin D. Evans, PhD, RT, RDMS, RVS, FSDMS, FAIUM, Professor at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. This talk launched a series of sessions and events at the AIUM Convention that focused on ergonomics. The entire Plenary Session is available on the AIUM Facebook Page.
Fun Activities—Not only was #AIUM19 educational, it was also fun. 
This year attendees could participate in morning exercise classes (yoga, jogging, bootcamp); do a scavenger hunt with the AIUM app (Congrats to Julie Abe, MD, from Brazil for winning the free #AIUM2020 registration); collect specialty-specific buttons (Congrats to Joanne Richards, RT, RDMS, RT on winning the smartwatch for collecting at least 15 buttons); and participate in Industry Symposia.
Sold-out Exhibit Hall—This year’s exhibit hall was the most exciting and active it has ever been. There were more new companies at this year’s event than ever, making the exhibit hall vibrant and exciting! 
New product releases, special offers, and cool giveaways created a buzz we haven’t seen in years. Plus, there was cake! Thanks to all the exhibitors!
Award Winners—The AIUM was proud to recognize the following award winners (look for upcoming blog posts and/or videos from some of these individuals):
James A. Zagzebski, PhD–William J Fry Memorial Lecture Award
Steven R. Goldstein, MD, FAIUM—Joseph H. Holmes Clinical Pioneer Award
Keith A. Wear, PhD, FAIUM—Joseph H. Holmes Basic Science Pioneer Award
Kevin David Evans, PhD, RT, RDMS, RVS, FAIUM—Distinguished Sonographer Award
Michael Blaivas, MD, MBA, FAIUM, FACEP—Peter H. Arger, MD Excellence in Medical Student Education Award
Bryann Bromley, MD, FAIUM—Carmine M. Valente Distinguished Service Award
Liat Gindes, MD—AIUM Honorary Fellow
Tammy Stearns, MS, RT(R), RDMS, RVT, FSDMS—AIUM Honorary Fellow
The AIUM also recognized the life and achievements of these individuals who were inducted into the Memorial Hall of Fame:
Michael L. Manco-Johnson, MD
Terry J. DuBose, MS, RDMS, FAIUM, FSDMS
Donald Baker
Up and Comers—In addition to our national awards, the AIUM also recognizes its New Investigators. This year’s winners and runners-up are:
Basic Science
Winner—Viktor Bollen, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Chicago for “A Comparison Of Thrombus Dissolution Efficacy With Single And Multiple-Cycle Histotripsy Pulses In Vitro.”
Runner-Up–Lakshmanan Sannachi, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Physical Sciences, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre for “Quantitative Ultrasound Texture-Derivative Methods Combined with Advanced Machine-Learning for Therapy Response Prediction: Method Development and Evaluation.”
Clinical Ultrasound
Winner—Misun Hwang, MD, Assistant Professor of Radiology, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania for “Quantitative Detection of Brain Injury with Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound in Neonates and Infants.”
Runner-Up–Michal Fishel Bartal, Maternal Fetal Medicine Fellow, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas at Houston (UTHealth) for “Validation of 3D Power Doppler Volume Analysis in Patients with 2D Ultrasound Suspected Morbidly Adherent Placenta.”
Convention attendees say that the reason they attend this event is because of the multi-specialty nature of the AIUM. This event brings together physicians, sonographers, scientists, students, and others from at least 20 specialties–all focused on medical ultrasound! No other event–or professional society–does this. To all of those who joined us in Orlando, thanks and we hope you were able to take back some contacts, a lot of information, and resources to improve patient care. For everyone else, we hope to see you in New York City for AIUM2020.
If you attended the AIUM convention the past 2 years you may have heard mention of SonoSlam in passing. So what is it? SonoSlam is a medical student ultrasound competition and educational event. It was conceived as an idea to promote medical student ultrasound and was officially born in Orlando in 2015. A few members of the medical education committee were discussing how to get students more engaged in ultrasound at the national level. A national ultrasound student interest group had been formed and got behind the idea of nationalizing ultrasound activities for medical students. Many of us had been involved in regional events such as Ultrafest or had participated in Sonogames™, an emergency medicine resident ultrasound competition. As we brainstormed, SonoSlam came to fruition. We wanted this event to be more than a game, making sure to integrate education into the proceedings. Given the diversity of exposure to ultrasound in undergraduate medical education, the faculty wanted to ensure that this event would be appealing to students of all levels of experience. In addition, the unique offering of AIUM is that this event would be multidisciplinary. With these key components of education, competition, and a multidisciplinary approach SonoSlam was created. The inaugural SonoSlam was held in New York in 2016 with the winning team awarded the Peter Arger Cup, named after the famed radiologist who championed medical student ultrasound education at the AIUM. Seventeen teams from 12 different schools participated in this inaugural event with more than 30 faculty from across the country. This year in Orlando we grew to 23 teams from 17 schools from across the country—Oregon to New York to Florida and all in between. We had more than 50 faculty from a multitude of specialties, including emergency medicine, internal medicine, critical care, obstetrics and gynecology, radiology, and pediatrics. We plan to continue to host this event annually with the lofty goal of having representation from every medical school in the country. We hope to see you in New York March 24, 2018!
Last week, physicians, sonographers, scientists, and educators from across the country and around the world left New York City and the AIUM Annual Convention to return home. They left with new contacts, tips, tricks, techniques, research, technology, and information that will help them improve patient care. If you were unable to attend, or if you want to relive another amazing AIUM Annual Convention, here are the highlights as well as a summary of attendee feedback.
In its inaugural year, this student competition had 16 teams sign up to compete for the Peter Arger Cup. This year’s winning team, “Baby Don’t Hertz Me,” hails from The Ohio State University. Plans are already underway to increase this event next year.
e-poster program. This year, the winners were (look for upcoming videos from them):
As such, we realize that while most things go well and according to plan, some do not. Here then is