Some of the invited speakers at the symposium. L to R: Prof Liu Hon-Man, Dr Tchoyoson Lim, Dr Michael Morgan and Dr Robert Kwok

Dr Evelyn Ho, President of the College of Radiology with Dr Alex Tang, the Course Director of the EINR2, and also the Secretary of the College of Radiology

Yg BerBahagia Dato’ Dr Jacob Thomas, Group Medical Advisor, Sime Darby Berhad with the Guest of Honour, Yg BerBahagia Datin Rusnah Bt Hussin, Deputy Director of the Medical Professional Development Division, Ministry of Health, Malaysia

The audience at the Opening Ceremony on 18 Aug 2006

The live transmission of an interventional case in the Vascular and Interventional Suite remote from the conference room

The scene at the control room of an interventional case in progress in the Vascular and Interventional Suite

One of the booths at the mini-exhibition

A public forum was organised on the afternoon of the last day of the symposium, 20 Aug 2006

Dr Wong Leong Wai (Consultant Radiologist) receives his lucky draw prize from Yg Berbahagia Dato’ Dr Jacob Thomas

The Closing Ceremony was a light hearted one with lucky draw prizes for the long-suffering delegates to the symposium

by Dr Sumithra Ranganathan

If you missed this event, review the lectures at the Biomedical Imaging and Intervention Journal

The adrenaline was pumping, expectations were high and everyone was on tenterhooks! Would it go well? There were live cases - after all hitches and glitches are part of the norm… 

Kudos to the College of Radiology and Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC) for successfully organising the 2^nd Endovascular & Interventional Neuroradiology Symposium from the 18^th to the 20^th of August 2006. Participants at the symposium did not have to pay a fee for attending – a feat that was made possible by the efforts of the organisers and support from the industry. 

The Course Director of the EINR was Dr Alex Tang, who himself is a Consultant Interventional Radiologist. Under his capable team the EINR went smoothly and was well-attended both by local delegates and those from abroad including Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia, even though the symposium also stretched to a Sunday.

The Guest of Honour officiating at the Opening Ceremony was Datin Rusnah bt Hussin, Deputy Director of the Medical Professional Development Division, Ministry of Health, Malaysia. 

The international speakers were Dr Andrew Molyneux, Consultant Interventional Neuroradiologist from Oxford UK, Prof Michael Morgan, Consultant Cerebrovascular Neurosurgeon from Sydney, Assoc. Prof Sirintara from Bangkok, Prof Liu Hon-Man from Taiwan, Dr Tchoyoson Lim, Dr Peter Goh, Dr Tay Kiang Hiong and Dr Robert Kwok from Singapore. Apart from that we also had distinguished speakers from Malaysia. The key speaker, Dr Andrew Molyneux in his landmark International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial (ISAT) using platinum endovascular coil therapy to stop a bleeding ruptured subarachnoid aneurysm has revolutionised the entire treatment paradigm worldwide.  

Dr Evelyn Ho, who after being recently elected to the esteemed position of the President of the College of Radiology in her maiden speech mentioned that Radiology which began with the humble x-ray has entered into realms unheard of and has evolved so rapidly that it has also outgrown it’s name and is more suited to be called “Biomedical Imaging and Intervention”. She very succinctly put it that as the name suggests these four words has encompassed the convergence of various allied professions such as radiology, clinical oncology, nuclear medicine and medical physics to embrace a wider spectrum of specialties in medicine, where borders no longer are well defined and TEAM work is essential. This was clearly seen in the three days of the symposium. 

As the Course Director, Dr Alex Tang with his insight, chose various topics for the speakers to talk on which showed that medicine had no clear boundaries but like the spider’s web has woven all fields and specialties together and if as a team we worked together, we would definitely benefit patients and eventually the country as a whole. 

Apart from all the lectures which were given and which no one missed due to the foresight by the organising committee to set up plasma TVs so that participants could both visit the exhibition booths and hear the lectures, the main highlight of the symposium was the live telecast of interventional cases such as Stent Assisted Coiling of a giant wide neck right vertebral artery aneurysm, a complex flow related aneurysm, intervention in carotid rupture and uterine artery embolisation. 

Pre recorded case of emergency stenting of right Middle Cerebral Artery dissection in the salvage of acute stroke was also presented. 

The speakers both international and local spoke on a broad variety of topics ranging from craniospinal arteriovenous malformation (AVM) and intracranial aneurysm management, as well as stroke intervention and peripheral vascular disease. Apart from that there were lectures on presentation and management of both uterine fibroid and gynaecological emergencies and intervention as well as management of various cancers. 

Various new developments, techniques and devices in the field of neuro- and body intervention including Onyx^®, polyglycolic acid coated Nexus coil (EV3), new embolic particles, i.e.- Bead Block^®, Biocompatible, Terumo and new generation of microcatheters like Progreat^®, Terumo and MTI Marathon micro-catheter systems  were highlighted. 

The speaker’s dinner was a hit as it was held in the FLAM’S restaurant in Bangsar. It was an evening of good fun, laughter and socialising among all who made the EINR a success. Those present put aside their inhibitions for a delightful evening of good food, good wine and good company. The winner of the lucky draw that evening was none other Dr Molyneux who won a T5 Sony camera. 

Those who could not attend due to lack of space (as there was overwhelming response to the symposium registration) or various commitments were not forgotten, as the lectures were recorded and available on the net, both in the websites of SJMC and the electronic journal of  the College of Radiology (CoR), the Biomedical Imaging and Intervention Journal or the BIIJ.