New blood invariably brings change. Having very recently taken over from Savvas Andronikou, who set a very high standard for this journal (and who insisted on manuscripts being forwarded in printed format), I was imme- diately and completely taken with the electronic process of submission that appears on the South African Journal of Radiology webpage: www.sajr.org.za. From the home page, one can register as a reader and/or author, and a personal profile is created in the process. Authors can electronically upload a manuscript that will proceed through the steps of Unassigned, In Review, Editing, Layout, Publishing – and be able to track its progress if they wish. The process is straightforward and simple. E-mail responses are automatically generated by the OJS (Open Journal System), as it’s called, and the potentials for error are minimised. This is undoubtedly the way forward, and I kindly request that all future submissions and correspondence take this route. We have in the past utilised a rotating guest editorship assigned to indi- vidual faculties. This might have assisted in sharing the load, but we have witnessed fluctuating quality and a lack of consistent editorial policy. Under the editorship of Professor Andronikou, this has largely disappeared and we intend to abolish the process completely. Sharing the load, however, remains critical. To ensure future progress of the journal towards an internationally recognised peer-reviewed publication, we need only 3 manuscripts from our 8 academic institutions annually. The wealth of excellent material in the pri- vate sector remains essentially untapped, and contributions from this sector are continually sought – and greatly appreciated. CPD registration will take place in due course. A questionnaire at the end of each issue can be electronically filled in and submitted and CPD points will be automatically assigned. A CPD certificate in the name of the participant can be generated on the website. We hope also to publish regu- lar contributions on ethics in order to assist our members in accumulating points in this area. You have in your hands the first issue of Volume 12. I very much hope and trust that we will look back, in 2 - 3 years from now, and agree that the goals were worthwhile and that the first issue of Volume 14 will be that of a peer-reviewed, internationally recognised radiological journal. Vires acquirit eundo – It gathers strength as it goes (Virgil; 70 - 19 BC). Vires acquirit eundo. Jan Lotz Editor-in-chief EDITORIAL � SA JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY • April 2008 New RSSA committee Dr Clive Sperryn has recently been voted in as President of the Radiological Society of Southern Africa (RSSA). A former Head of School at Michaelhouse (1979), he won a Tongaat Hulett Group Scholarship to study medicine at UCT, and the Zwarenstein prize for the most outstanding student in his first year. He was a member (Business Manager) of the RAG Executive, the Medical Students Council Executive and the Mountain and Ski Club Committee, and was awarded the Sir Abe Bailey Travel Bursary in 1984. After internship at Edendale, he spent time in casualty, paediatrics, general practice (including diving medicine), neurosurgery and world travel, before commencing radiology at Groote Schuur in 1991. Studying initially under Professor Ronnie Kottler, he was subsequently appointed by Professor Steve Beningfield to head the Vascular and Interventional Unit. An unexpected phone call from Joel Bortz led to a partnership with Lake, Smit and Partners in Durban before a final return to Cape Town in 2000 to join Morton and Partners. The RSSA has been well served by Richard Tuft, who led the Society to the enviable position we find ourselves in today, and continues to be involved as Past President. Bates Alheit remains Executive Director, and Trevor Alnutt and Jako Calitz continue to run the Secretariat. We bid farewell to Jan Labuscagne and wish him well in his new role as Secretary-General of the ISR and with the founding of the African Society of Radiology in Marrakech this year. Jan has been replaced as Congress Chairman by Leon Janse van Rensburg, who has tackled this role with phenomenal enthusiasm. The new Vice-President is Sheldon Godinho, with Ralph Posner as Treasurer, Mark Velleman as Secretary, and Nigel Flint and Ashesh Ranchod completing the executive. Radiologists are a highly mobile, scarce resource and one of our chal- lenges is to retain those who have been trained in South Africa. The RSSA supports academic radiology through journal sponsorship, publication of the SAJR (which is provided free to all members), moving to electronic format for greater access, organisation of congresses and work- shops and, recently, the establishment of a prize for an outstanding lecture given by any junior member at an RSSA congress. We thank Dr Savvas Andronikou for his enormous contribution to the SAJR and welcome Jan Lotz as the new Editor-in-chief. We have recently been made an extremely generous offer of free cor- responding membership of the European Society of Radiology for all our members. Benefits include: • free electronic access to European Radiology, one of the most prestigious publications in the field of imaging • reduced registration rates for the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) from 2009 onwards • free electronic access to EURORAD, the largest peer-reviewed teaching database of radiology on the internet • free electronic access to EPOS™, the Electronic Presentation Online System which comprises more than 6 300 electronic presentations shown during ECR, ESCR, ESGAR, ESMRMB, SIR and CIRSE that can be viewed and downloaded • free electronic access to eECR, which contains over 350 recorded lectures that can be viewed from ECR, ESGAR or ESMRMB • free electronic access to EDIPS Download, ECR's digital preview system which enables one to download 1 099 Microsoft® Office PowerPoint presen- tations of ECR lectures throughout the year • all activities of the European School of Radiology (ESOR) are offered exclu- sively to members of the ESR • free access to the ESR online job forum. We invite all our members to take advantage of this opportunity by following the links in the news and views section of the RSSA website. We also invite all radiologists to contribute to our journal, to consider lecturing at our con- gresses, and to join the RSSA and enjoy the benefits of membership, including the opportunity for free corresponding membership of the ECR. RSSA fees are nominal for those who are not in private practice. Patricia Trietsch is the RSSA secretary and is contactable at rad- soc@iafrica.com. Dr Clive Sperryn Pg 2.indd 2 4/16/08 9:28:06 AM