Nuclear Medical and Imaging Sciences Technical Committee (NMISTC)

The Nuclear Medical and Imaging Sciences Technical Committee (NMISTC) includes NPSS members who are interested in scientific and educational activities that promote the fields of nuclear medical and imaging sciences. The activities of the NMISTC are managed by the Nuclear and Medical Imaging Sciences Council (NMISC), consisting of 15 elected members-at-large who serve for three years. Five new Council members are elected each year. The NMISC organizes and manages the Medical Imaging Conference component of the annual IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference (NSS/MIC), and acts as a liaison with three other IEEE societies in co-sponsoring the publication IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging. There are two NMISC awards available: the Medical Imaging Scientist Award, made in even numbered years, and the Young Investigator Medical Imaging Science Award, made in odd numbered years. Information about these awards can be obtained from the NPSS Web site at ewh.ieee.org/soc/nps/awards.htm, or by contacting the NMISC Awards Chair, Margaret Daube-Witherspoon (daubew@bellatlantic.net).
The NMISC held its Annual Meeting on November 15, 2002 at the Waterside Marriott Hotel in Norfolk, VA. Members and newly elected members present included: John Aarsvold (new), Craig Levin, Magnus Dahlbom, Margaret Daube-Witherspoon, John Engdahl, Lars Eriksson, Eric Frey, Marijana Ivanovic, Ronald Jaszczak, Steven Meikle, William Moses, Bradley Patt, Charles Stearns, Christopher Thompson (new), Ben Tsui (new), Larry Zeng, and George Zubal. The other newly elected members for 2003 are Tom Lewellen and Ronald Huesman. Additional attendees at the meeting included: Simon Cherry, Alberto Del Guerra, Edward Hoffman, Joel Karp, Ron Keyser, Michael King, Tony Lavietes, Robert Miyaoka, and Graham Smith.
Ben Tsui (2001 MIC Program Chair) presented an updated report on the 2001 IEEE MIC meeting that was held in San Diego. There were 338 submitted abstracts. Of this total number, 37 were rejected, 77 were assigned to oral sessions, and 216 were assigned to poster sessions. There were 68 reviewers of abstracts for that meeting. There were 20 student travel grants awarded.
Joel Karp (2002 NSS/MIC General Chair) reported on some of the key statistics of the 2002 NSS/MIC meeting that was held in Norfolk. There was a total of 826 registrants, of which approximately two-thirds signed up for MIC. This marked the first time in NSS/MIC history that the MIC registrants surpassed the NSS registrants. For this meeting, the NSS and MIC posters were together, and all posters were kept up for the duration of the conference. There were more posters and reduced oral presentations compared to the previous year. Ed Hoffman was presented with the prestigious Medical Imaging Scientist Award at the MIC Banquet. The general consensus was that the Norfolk meeting was a great success. The 2003 NSS/MIC meeting will be held in Portland. Mike King is the MIC Program Chair.
Alberto Del Guerra (2004 NSS/MIC General Chair) reported on the plans for the 2004 Rome NSS/MIC meeting. The conference committee is set, as is the budget. The hotel is just outside of Rome and has 900 rooms. There will be enormous floor space for posters. Special events are planned for every night. The goal is to have more than 1200 attendees.
Simon Cherry (2005 MIC Chair) reported on the status of the site selection for the 2005 NSS/MIC meeting that will be held in Puerto Rico. Five properties were reviewed. The first choice selected was the El Conquistador Resort, for which low room rates have been negotiated. Mid-day breaks in the conference sessions are expected. Tom Lewellen will be the general Chair. There will be a lot of poster sessions, just like last year. Many more student travel grants are expected to be made.
For 2006, a proposal was made and passed to return to the Town and Country Hotel in San Diego. Graham Smith has agreed to be the General Chair for the 2006 NSS/MIC meeting.
Steve Meikle reported on the concept of an Australian site for a future NSS/MIC meeting. Some of the drawbacks that were mentioned included: possible lower attendance, too expensive for students, and foreign travel restrictions for attendees from certain national laboratories. In spite of these perceived drawbacks, there was a motion that was passed to continue investigating the feasibility of holding a future NSS/MIC meeting in either Australia or elsewhere in the Pacific Basin and Rim regions (for example, Hawaii, Japan, or Korea).
The Annual Meeting concluded with the announcement that Magnus Dahlbom was elected as the new NMISC Vice-Chair and Chair-elect.
Excerpted from the Minutes of the Annual Meeting submitted by Craig Levin, Secretary, NMISC, who can be reached at the Nuclear Medicine Division, School of Medicine, University of California/VA Medical Centers, San Diego, CA 92161; Phone: +1 858 552-7511; Fax: +1 858 552-4387; E-mail: clevin@ucsd.edu. Ronald Jaszczak, Chair, NMISC, can be reached at the Department of Radiology, DUMC-3949, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710; Phone: +1 919 684-7685; Fax: +1 919 684-7122; E-mail: rjj@dec3.mc.duke.edu.