SA JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY • June 2012 81 RADIOACTIVE NEWS CME Fund donates books to Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital Clive Sperryn (President, RSSA) The CME Fund, now formally constituted with trustees Professors Zarina Lockhat and Leon Janse van Rensburg and Drs Thami Ngomam and Johan Basson, made funds available during 2011 to the academic institutions for purchasing books for departmental libraries. However, Professor Steve Beningfield advised that the library at UCT was well stocked, and their funds were therefore re-allocated across the other institutions. We were very appreciative of this generous gesture. However, Leon Janse van Rensburg recently became aware that Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital (RCWMCH) was in need of books; as a result, an additional allocation of funds was made so that the RCWMCH might acquire the needed books. I recently had the pleasure of handing over these books to Dr Tracy Kilborn and her team on behalf of the RSSA CME Fund. At my visit, I was pleased to note that the paediatric radiology fellowship programme is once again active and to meet Dr Tanya Pillay who is the current paediatric radiology fellow. The RSSA hopes to further strengthen radiology training and academic radiology within South Africa, and it is anticipated that further fellowships will be initiated through the subspeciality groups, the college and academic institutions. The active congress programme of the RSSA organised by Leon Janse van Rensburg covers major areas of the syllabus over a 5-year cycle, giving all radiologists, and particularly those in training, the opportunity to continually update knowledge, with renowned international speakers coming to South Africa. First RSSA/SASPI Paediatric Imaging Congress The first RSSA/South African Society of Paediatric Imaging (SASPI) Paediatric Imaging Congress takes place at the Sandton Sun Hotel Conference Centre, Johannesburg, from 9 - 11 November 2012. Registration details are on the RSSA website (http://www.rssa.co.za). The international faculty of four renowned paediatric radiologists comprises Professors A James Barkovich (neuroradiology, University of California, San Francisco), Diego Jaramillo (body imaging and MSK, University of Pennsylvania), Edward Lee (thoracic imaging, Harvard University) and Pia Sundgren (neuroradiology, University of Lund, Sweden), supported by South African paediatric radiologists and co-ordinated by Dr Tracy Kilborn, Head of the Department of Radiology, Red Cross Children’s War Memorial Hospital, Cape Town. Radiologists and radiographers require comprehensive knowledge of advances in all imaging modalities pertaining to children. The renewed emphasis and public awareness of issues about radiation exposure and dose reduction techniques, makes this event very timely and relevant to our daily practice. The programme covers three categories: neuroradiology, and thoracic and musculoskeletal imaging. The chosen topics will give insight and guidelines into the management of common and challenging conditions encountered in paediatric patients. There will also be an interactive case- based interpretation session led by the international faculty, and lectures on new horizons in paediatric neurological and thoracic imaging. The free paper session for the 2012 RSSA Travel Award of R40 000 will take place during the course. There will also be a scientific and poster exhibition with prizes of R15 000, R10 000 and R5 000. The Scientific Committee Chair is Dr Jaishree Naidoo (University of the Witwatersrand); the other members are Professors Zarina Lockhat (University of Pretoria), Victor Mngomezulu (University of the Witwatersrand) and Richard Pitcher (University of Stellenbosch). We are grateful for their time and effort in taking on a difficult task. The RSSA has a vibrant CME programme which is forged upon partnerships with leading international societies, radiologists and scientists. One of the prestigious partners is the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM), thanks to whose global outreach programme, funding was received to facilitate this event. All members of the international faculty are also members of the ISMRM, whose generous support is greatly appreciated, as is that of other sponsors whose commitment to radiology training and teaching is indispensable. European Congress of Radiology 2013 ECR 2013, which is organised by the European Society of Radiology, will be held at the Austria Center, Bruno Kreisky Platz, Vienna, from 7 - 11 March 2013. The deadlines and requirements for abstract submission are on the ESR website. Representing the medical specialty of radiology throughout Europe, this major event is well worth planning to attend. Go to http://www.alliance-for-mri.org/cms/website. php?id=/en/ecr_2013.htm for more information. Registrars and young radiologists who are members of the RSSA are encouraged to take up corresponding membership of the ESR via the link in the RSSA website and to consider attending ECR 2013. RSSA CME educational grants The RSSA CME Association is pleased to announce that it has made available 6 educational grants for 2012, up to a value of R10 000 each, of which 3 have been awarded to date. RSSA members (specifically registrars or radiologists with less than 5 years’ experience) who will be making oral or poster presentations at an international congress are eligible for these grants. Contact Patricia Trietsch at the RSSA (see below) for Back row, left to right: Nicky Wieselthaler, Ebrahim Banderker (consultants); Zukisa Mabusela, Zonah Khumalo (registrars); Tanya Pillay (paediatric radiology fellow) and Kristin Lorenc-Henning (registrar). Front row: Tracy Kilborn (HoD), Clive Sperryn (RSSA President). 82 SA JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY • June 2012 RADIOACTIVE NEWS more information. All decisions regarding the applications will be made by the Trustees of the RSSA CME Association at their sole discretion. The first three grant recipients are: Dr Nishentha Govender, a radiology registrar at the University of the Witwatersrand, who was selected to deliver an oral presentation, entitled Adequacy of Paediatric Renal Tract Ultrasound Requests and Reports, at the European Society of Paediatric Congress (ESPR) 2012 in Athens  from 30 May - 1 June. Dr Nasreen Mahomed, a radiologist at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, also attending ESPR 2012, for three  poster presentations entitled Vanishing White Matter Disease, MRI Imaging over 3 Years; Non-accidental Injury – A South African Experience; and Disseminated Rhabdomyosarcoma with Spinal Metastases. Dr Pieter Janse van Rensburg, a Fellow in the Department of Neuroradiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA. Dr Janse van Rensburg was selected from more than 1 570 applicants  to present an oral paper at the American Society of Neuroradiology (ASNR) 50th Anniversary Annual meeting in New York from 23 - 26 April this year. The title was Mild Aural Dysplasia: Identifying the Subtle Findings. The RSSA congratulates the recipients on their outstanding achievements. We again encourage all registrars who are not members to join the RSSA. Fees are low and members enjoy the free journal and lower rates at our congresses. Contact Patricia Trietsch, Radiological Society of South Africa, email: radsoc@iafrica.com, website: www.rssa.co.za, phone 011 794 4395, fax 011 794 4313. PET/CT scanner in service at Tygerberg Hospital On 19 April 2012 the Provincial Government of the Western Cape, NTP Radioisotopes (Pty) Ltd and its parent company NECSA (South African Nuclear Energy Corporation) celebrated the official opening of the Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/ CT) Centre at Tygerberg Hospital. The R15.6 million PET/CT scanner was donated to the people of the Western Cape by NTP Radioisotopes, with the contribution of the Western Cape Department of Health to this project being R14.75 million (R11 million for infrastructure and R3.75 million for equipment accessories). Western Cape Health Minister, Theuns Botha, said, ‘The cost-saving implications of this technology are phenomenal, and it also means that greater numbers of patients will be treated more appropriately, with improved outcomes for all.  This is such a great example of the public and private sector working together for the well-being of the people of the Western Cape.’   Don Robertson, NTP’s MD and acting CEO of NECSA, said. ‘NTP is in the business of actively enhancing lives and is really proud to have made an additional scanner available to the Western Cape. This will now ease the strain of utilising the scanner at the Cape PET/CT Centre, where only two afternoon sessions per week were allocated to Tygerberg, Groote Schuur and Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital patients.’ The first patient had the privilege of utilising the new scanner by undergoing the first scan earlier in April. Robertson explained that millions of patients throughout the world benefit from nuclear medicine scans and other procedures performed using products supplied by NTP. ‘Early detection of most diseases assisted by using nuclear medicine scans greatly enhances the possibility of early and accurate diagnosis. The commercially produced radioactive isotope known as molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) is used globally in nuclear medical procedures. This allows prompt and proper treatment, and therefore a better chance of a saved life.’ The tender to provide the PET/CT scanner was awarded to Philips Medical Systems. Professor James Warwick of the Nuclear Medicine Department at Tygerberg Hospital, and the Project Leader, said that the system meant more accurate detection, better image quality and detection of smaller lesions, and that it enables the scanning of more patients. Report on the first RSSA- Leuven HRCT Lung Course: 24 - 26 February 2012, Spier Estate, Stellenbosch Darius Tsatsi (Department of Radiology, Polokwane Campus, University of Limpopo) ‘We have over 95% of the attendees present at the end of a 2-and-a- half-day intensive course, and those who left had unavoidable reasons to depart early’, announced Professor Leon Janse van Rensburg, RSSA Congress Chairman, at the end of the last lecture of the interactive HRCT course. The 92-strong audience thoroughly enjoyed the course and fully participated in the interactive sessions, lectures and question- and-answer sessions. The second of two back-to-back courses, this dedicated and most comprehensive high resolution computed resolution (HRCT) course, under the auspices of the RSSA and Leuven University, took place at the serene and historic Spier Wine Estate. Professor Leon Janse van Rensburg, Chairman of the Congress Committee, welcomed all and made the necessary introductions. The course has been presented annually for 22 years in Leuven, and is usually limited to 60 partcipants. Leon, as he is affectionately known, managed to negotiate an additional 32 and 20 participants respectively for the Cape Town and Johannesburg sessions. This was a major feat; congratulations to Leon for his superb organisational skills. Since his chairmanship, he has not only increased the number of congresses but also improved the content and quality to keep us on par with the rest of the world. This was the first time the course was presented outside Leuven – another major achievement for Leon and the RSSA. Despite having reserved 30% of the places for registrars, these were not taken up and were released only when early registration closed. This is an area we all need to work on to improve the lot of those who will advance our discipline and society in the years ahead. Professor Drs Johny Verschakelen and Walter De Wever of the Department of Radiology, University Hospitals, Catholic University of Leuven (K.U. Leuven), dazzled and impressed local diagnostic radiologists as they teased apart the complex concepts of HRCT. The course began with an intricate outline of lung anatomy, using sketches and drawings superimposed on CT lung anatomy. The latter formed the basis for the pathological variations from ground glass, nodular, cystic, linear and other changes. Time was also given to a more detailed analysis of some of the complex conditions of the lungs. Fortunately, the lectures will be available to all on the RSSA website. A major regret is that, despite the Chairman pushing for more seats for the congress, interactive spots could not be provided for all the delegates wanting them. I close by thanking the RSSA, SA JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY • June 2012 83 RADIOACTIVE NEWS and Professors Verschakelen and De Wever for their time and presenting and simplifying for all of us the performance, analysis, interpretation and reporting of HRCT diseases. And thanks to the attendees, Christelle Snyman of ConsultUS, and Professor Leon Janse van Rensburg. ASNR 50th Annual Meeting, 21-26 April 2012, New York, NY, USA Pieter Janse van Rensburg (Fellow in Neuroradiology, Department of Radiology, University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Salt Lake City, Utah) I had the privilege of attending, and delivering an oral presentation (Mild congenital external and middle ear malformations: Identifying the subtle findings) at, the 50th meeting of the American Society of Neuroradiology (ASNR) in New York this year. It was a most prestigious and well-attended meeting, with many simultaneous presentations and lectures on various topics of interest on all aspects of neuroradiology. One particularly important topic was the assessment of true progression and pseudoprogression in the age of anti-angiogenic therapies. The Revised Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (RANO) criteria is the latest, albeit imperfect, system to address this issue. Radiologists are advised to report their neuro-oncology imaging studies according to the RANO criteria. It is also important to be aware of the drastic changes in the imaging appearance of brain tumours that may result within 24 hours after the administration of anti-angiogenic therapies such as bevacizumab (Avastin). Another topic of interest was the imaging of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. This is an increasingly recognised entity, often affecting younger patients without traditional risk factors such as smoking and alcohol use. It is, however, associated with certain sexual practices. These tumours appear to have a better prognosis than conventional oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas. The educational exhibitions, electronic posters and cases of the day were also highly interesting, and I encourage South African residents and radiologists to consider submitting their research or educational projects to international meetings such as that of the ASNR. I express my gratitude to the RSSA, who awarded me an educational grant to attend the ASNR and to present my research.