by Monika Dhingra

Practical applications and implications of emerging computer technologies in radiology will take center stage when the Society for Computer Applications in Radiology (SCAR) holds its annual symposium June 3-6 in Philadelphia.

The symposium is designed for professionals who use, buy, or develop computer-based equipment with applications in radiology. This meeting marks the 20th anniversary for the society and its 17th symposium.

As technological innovations find greater use in radiology, the society is seeing more discussion of the practical issues associated with them. SCAR 2000 will bring these discussions to a common forum, said Dr. Byrn Williamson, scientific committee chairman and immediate past president of SCAR.

"People are bringing their personal experiences to the meetings now. In a sense, we are seeing the next level of research on PACS," Williamson said. "We used to think that to have PACS meant to move images electronically and store data. Now we are beginning to understand the difference it is making in our practices and the changes it is introducing that will make our practices more efficient. A number of papers (will) bring these issues to the table."

One of the benefits of the meeting is the broad spectrum of those involved, Williamson said. Attendees are not just radiologists, but physicists and engineers, among others.

"It is good to get these groups talking. For instance, it is good for users to talk to vendors, and for both to discuss what is good and not good about their products. The SCAR meeting is unique in the number of constituencies involved in sharing issues and concerns," Williamson said. "For skeptics it will be a good place to start."

Anna Marie Mason, SCAR executive director, said SCAR 2000 will include many firsts: induction of the first group of SCAR fellows, introduction of SCAR University, a scientific poster session with cash awards, and a session dedicated exclusively to the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise project.

The symposium will include eight scientific sessions covering state-of-the-art research, technical exhibits by numerous vendors, and tours of digital imaging facilities at the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, and Thomas Jefferson University.

• "The Electronic Practice: Radiology and the Enterprise" is the theme of this year's symposium. Fifty oral presentations and three hours of poster and demonstration presentations will be included in this part of the program. It is designed to help attendees determine which computer applications can contribute best to their practice, evaluate components of electronic image and information management systems, and prepare for the changes that will result from implementing computer applications.
  
  
• The keynote address, "The History of PACS and the Future of Medical Imaging in the New Millennium," will be delivered by Dr. Ronald Arenson, a SCAR founding member and chairman of radiology at the University of California, San Francisco. Arenson will review the past 20 years of radiology computer applications, including his experience at the University of Pennsylvania during the development of one of the country's first PACS in 1982.
  
  
• Dr. Eliot L. Siegel, director of radiology for the VA Maryland Healthcare System, will speak on Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE). The IHE is an initiative of the Radiological Society of North America and the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society that seeks to integrate imaging applications with the emerging electronic medical record.
  
  
• SCAR University will allow attendees to choose educational offerings that can be tailored to their level of skill and expertise. Courses in different topics are offered at beginning, intermediate, advanced, and "graduate" levels.
  
  
• SCAR meeting attendance has tripled and exhibitor participation has increased by 45% in the last year, although precise figures are not available. More than 1100 attendees (617 professional) and 51 exhibiting companies participated in the meeting last year.
  
  
• Practical, training-oriented workshops will be devoted to computer-aided diagnosis, speech recognition, the electronic medical record, radiology on the Internet, and PACS workstations.
  
  
• There will be a new exchange forum for radiology residents in which residents can discuss their concerns with leaders in the field, and find out about training, job options, research possibilities, and fellowships.