The 13^th Asian Oceanian Congress of Radiology (AOCR2010) kicked off with concurrent tracks in musculoskeletal, abdominal, breast, cardiovascular, emergency, genitourinary and interventional specialities at 8.30am on Saturday, 20^th March with world famous experts such as Donald L. Resnick from San Diego, California, giving refresher topics on Injuries of the Knee: Detective Work for the Radiologist and Tendon Failure: Anatomy, Biomechanics, Pathophysiology and MR Imaging.  Anne G. Osborn, University Distinguished Professor of Radiology at the University Of Utah School Of Medicine, delivered one of the opening plenary lectures at the Opening Ceremony of the AOCR2010, the same afternoon. Chinese drums and a lion dance added fanfare to the Opening Ceremony.

The distinguished international faculty for the AOCR2010 boasted more than 100 speakers, whilst about 2000 participants descended on the Taipei International Convention Centre in Taipei, Taiwan Republic of China. The three and a half days were packed with myriad topics to choose from, case of the day, over 500 papers proffered (oral presentations, e-posters and printed posters) and a trade exhibition with close to 40 booths. Lunch symposiums as well as some satellite sessions were held in the nearby Grand Hyatt Taipei Hotel.

At the AOCR President’s Dinner, 20 March, the stipends for those who qualified for the Young Investigators’ Award/Scholarships were given out. One of the recipients was Ahmad Razali from Malaysia and he submitted a paper on the “Role of Superselective Embolisation in the Management of Acute Lower Gastrointestinal Haemorrhage”.

The AOCR Banquet & Taiwan Night was held on 22 March in the Grand Hotel, an imposing building with its ornate and traditional décor. Gold Medals of the AOSR were awarded to Alexander R. Margulis from the USA and Sudarshan Aggarwal from India. Alexander Margulis, a renowned researcher, educator and administrator had dedicated his career to the advancement of radiology. His passion, achievement and contribution to the development of radiology and his international relationships and collaborations particularly with the AOSR have been widely recognised. Sudarshan Aggarwal‘s gold medal was accepted on his behalf by his son, Bharat Aggarwal. Sudarshan organised the tremendously successful 1991 AOCR in New Delhi and has contributed to the growth and development of global radiology. Both radiologists are recognised internationally for their sterling contributions.

The AOSR General Assembly was held on 21 March and the new AOSR Executive Council meeting was held the next day on 22 March. Byung-Ihn Choi from Korea is the new President of the AOSR (2010-2012). The AOSR Executive Council also held a meeting with the President of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), Dr Hedvig Hricak and the Executive Director of the RSNA, Mark G. Watson to explore areas where greater collaboration could be forged.

The AOCR2010 was organised by the Chinese Taipei Society of Radiology (CTSR) and co-hosted by the Asian Oceanian Society of Radiology (AOSR). Congratulations to Yi-Hong Chou, President of the AOCR Executive Committee and his team for an educational extravaganza and indeed, a congress to be remembered. The AOCR is now a biennial event and the next AOCR will be from 29 August to 2 September, 2012, Sydney (www.aocr2012.com).  So mark your calendar and see you in Sydney, mate!

About the AOSR
The Asian Oceanian Society of Radiology was established in 1971 with the aim of developing radiology in the region and enhancing the networking of doctors and researchers. It has 24 member national societies within the Asian and Oceanian region with about 12,000 individual members. Its main activities include hosting the biennial congress and educational programmes.

Past AOCRs:
1971 - Melbourne, Australia
1975 - Manila, Philippines
1979 - Singapore
1983 - Bangkok, Thailand
1987 - Seoul, Korea
1991 - New Delhi, India
1995 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1998 - Kobe, Japan 
2001 - Singapore
2004 - Singapore
2006 - Hong Kong
2008 - Seoul, Korea