The AP chapter of the Indian Radiological and Imaging Association (IRIA) is organizing its 57th Annual Congress in Hyderabad from 8-11 January. About 30 radiologists from abroad and 80 leading Indian radiologists are likely to participate in the scientific discussions. The congress would focus on several emerging areas in the field of radiology.

A symposium on antenatal ultrasound with emphasis on detecting the birth defects before the child is born, would be conducted. Some of these defects can actually be corrected either by a radiologist or a surgeon during the pregnancy itself. This will prevent prenatal mortality and morbidity.

A symposium on stroke, which will focus on early diagnosis, will also take place. This will help in preventing paralysis and permanent disability.

Recent advances in cardiac imaging, dealing with newer non-invasive methods such as multi-detector CT and Ultrafast MRI for detecting the heart diseases will be discussed. In the coming years, catheterization angiography will not be used for diagnosis. But, angiography may still be needed for therapeutic correction.

There will be two symposia on interventional radiology which will highlight the new and emerging role of a radiologist not only in diagnosing the disease but also in the treatment of various conditions, some of which may be life saving.

There will be presentations on ‘Virtual Reality Imaging’, which will show an entirely new dimension of pathology, which will be very useful for surgeons and physicians. Dr Donald Resnick, an expert in musculo-skeletal imaging will be talking on newer developments in the diagnosis of knee, shoulder and other joint disorders. There will be lectures on telemedicine as well. Issues relating to molecular imaging, an exciting and newly emerging field of medicine would be discussed.